Magnolia shares proposed budget for fiscal year 2025–26

MAGNOLIA — Last week, Town Manager Charles Banks presented the proposed Fiscal Year 2025–26 Budget for the town of Magnolia.

He shared that the Water and Sewer Fund is balanced at $665,000, with no changes to water or sewer rates. The only increase is a $2 monthly rise in the in-town garbage collection fee, rising from $23 to $25 per month. This increase helps cover the rising costs of trash collection services, which jumped from $72,000 to an estimated $90,000.

Water and sewer hookup fees will remain at $1,250, with no increases in actual usage rates. Nevertheless, penalties such as the $50 late fee and $40 reconnection fee will still apply.

“We’ve heard a lot of comments from citizens, from the county, and from other counties about reevaluations going on in the town. So we have tried to be fair, trying to still do what we need to do for the town itself, but also keeping ultimately our citizens and our customers in our thoughts,” said Banks. “I know that the valuation has stunned a lot of people; it’s hit a lot of people hard. And hopefully it will not come to that in the town again.”

Banks shared that county leadership is considering moving to 4-year valuation cycles instead of eight, as this would provide a more gradual adjustment to ease future burden.

“We tried to keep everything flatlined and as close to what we did this year to not have any increases, other than the valuation and the tax revenue and the $2 garbage can for in-town. That is the only changes that will be made between the 2024-25 and the 2025-26 fiscal year budget,” Banks explained.

The town’s finances are in solid shape, with over $88,000 in reserves and more than $500,000 in a Capital Management Trust. The town is allocating $391,835 for general government operations, $272,343 for Public Works and the Police Department, $94,275 for streets and $34,800 for the contract with the fire department. Banks shared that small amounts will be set aside for community events like the Christmas celebration, upkeep of the Heritage Garden, and improvements to the community center and the park.

“We are trying to invest in our Recreation Department and doing things for our parks and our community,” Banks explained.

Mayor Dawn Ward thanked Banks and the board for their hard work.

“We’ve tried to put something together that we feel is, as I shared with my mayor’s advisory council last night, physically responsible for the town. While we weren’t able to add as much as we would have liked to, the pie is only so big, we did try to add some new dollar amounts for recreation, the gym, and the park,” she explained.

In other business:

• The board accepted a resolution recognizing May 11 through May 17 as Police Week, honoring the Magnolia Police Department’s role in maintaining public safety and fostering community welfare. It was also resolved that May 15, Peace Officers Memorial Day, would be a special day of remembrance in Magnolia.

• Police Chief J.T. Wood presented the family of late officer Mark Mobley with a special plaque to commemorate Mobley’s service with the Magnolia PD.

  

“Mark was not only a valued member of the Magnolia Police Department, but to me, he was a valued friend. I’ve known him all my life,” said Wood. “He would go out of his way to help. That’s the type of person he was, and he was a great man.”

• Mayor Dawn Ward recognized Elier Marquez, a Wallace-Rose Hill High School senior from Magnolia, for his remarkable accomplishments and presented him with a certificate of recognition for his outstanding success.

• The board scheduled a public hearing for chapter 160D zoning ordinance updates for the next regular board meeting on June 10. The updates are intended to bring Magnolia into baseline compliance with North Carolina state law.

• A motion to accept $92,500 in funding for a Lead Service Line Inventory was approved unanimously. Inventory will focus on properties built before 1987. The project is part of a larger effort tied to previously won infrastructure grants to comply with federal and state mandates to identify possible health hazards by locating any lead pipes in the town’s water system.

• Chief Wood provided departmental updates and shared that there has been a spike in break-ins, including business burglaries and larceny from vehicles.

“These activities that have been happening are not something that Magnolia is used to,” said Wood. He explained that some homeless people outside of town have wandered into Magnolia in recent months, but authorities are working on relocating them. Also, some break-ins are linked to cases in Warsaw and Wallace. Wood stated that a suspect has been identified across multiple jurisdictions and charges are pending.

“I would like to encourage citizens to remove items from your vehicle, anything that might be of value… A lot of times, they look for open vehicles or buildings because those are easy targets. … If you’ve got cash registers, we ask that you remove cash from them, and leave them open,” said Wood, explaining that this would deter thieves if they see that the cash register is empty.

Wood urged residents to stay vigilant.