Roanoke Rapids budget plan would raise property tax rate 4 cents

Roanoke Rapids is still working through a tense FY 2026-27 budget cycle centered on a 4-cent property tax-rate increase. In the city manager’s May 19 budget message, Kelly Traynham recommended a general fund operating budget of $21,113,732 while revenue estimates came in at $18,952,038. The draft plan also called for an ad valorem tax rate of 68.1 cents per $100 of assessed value, up from 64.1 cents, to raise an extra $560,640 in property tax revenue.

That change is not a flat fee. It works off assessed value, so a homeowner or business owner pays more or less depending on the tax bill’s base value. At the proposed rate, the increase works out to about $40 a year per $100,000 of assessed value — roughly $80 on a $200,000 property and $120 on a $300,000 property. The draft budget said it would also require $1,601,054 from undesignated fund balance, or reserves, to balance the plan.

Residents raised objections before the hearing

RRSpin reported that residents were already pressing the council on the budget before the June 2 hearing date. During public comment at the May 20 council meeting, speakers questioned whether the city should rethink police spending and whether the current public-safety structure is the most affordable way to serve the city. The city council meeting schedule shows June 2, 2026, on the calendar for the hearing.

The city’s own budget message says the problem is basic math: expenditures are outpacing stabilizing revenues. Traynham said the tax increase, revenue sources and fund balance use would help fund operations for the coming year, though she said significant cuts were needed to get the proposal down to the recommended amount.

Council has moved ahead, but the budget still has a final step

By June 4, RRSpin reported that council voted to go with the 4-cent tax increase after staff made additional cuts, trimming the operating budget to $20,254,342 and likely lowering the reserve draw to less than $800,000. Traynham said the revised plan keeps a 3% cost-of-living increase for employees, adjusts police pay ranges to stay competitive and does not add new positions or call for layoffs. She also said no jobs would be lost and no services cut, though several positions remain frozen.

For residents, the takeaway is straightforward: if the higher rate holds in the final budget ordinance, property owners will pay more, while city leaders are trying to protect public safety and core services without blowing a larger hole in reserves. The remaining question is whether council keeps the 4-cent increase, the reserve use and the latest spending cuts when it gives the budget its final approval.

Sources

• City of Roanoke Rapids FY 2026-2027 budget message and draft budget (May 19, 2026)
• RRSpin: Council approves 4-cent tax increase as staff makes additional budget cuts