Budget Presentation - May 22, 2026

The Wilson City Council began its 2026-27 budget discussions on May 21 with a $287 million draft spending plan with no property taxes increase. The tax rate would remain at $0.525 cents per $100 of taxable valuation, with the Municipal Service District rate also unchanged at $0.18 cents per $100 of taxable valuation.

City Manager Rodger Lentz presented the proposed budget at Thursday's monthly City Council meeting. The City Council will have two budget work sessions in June to continue discussions.

Several fees would increase in the proposed budget:

• 5 percent average increase in water and sewer rates
• $1.50 per month increase in solid waste fees (trash/recycle)
• $1 per month increase in stormwater fee

Permit fees and some Parks and Recreation fees will also increase. These fee increases vary according to circumstances and affect only those using the service. A new water and sewer system development fee is proposed to address infrastructure costs for new development. A public hearing on that fee will be held on June 18.

Wilson’s property tax rate compares favorably with peer cities.

Electric rate restructured with no impact to average residential bill

Electric rates will be restructured but will not impact the average cost of residential electric service. The rate riders that were added in 2024 will expire but rising wholesale costs require an increase that matches the cost of the rate riders. Residential electric customers will continue to pay the same amount for electricity under the new rate as under the previous rate plus the rider. This change is expected to maintain rate stability for the next several years.

Impact to residents

The average impact of the fee increases to water, sewer, stormwater and trash is $6.19 per month. Currently the average residential utility bill (including electric, natural gas, water, sewer, stormwater and trash) is $313.56, with the proposed bill increasing to $319.75.

Electric costs will remain stable although the rate will be restructured. Wilson Energy is the lowest-cost provider in the region, as shown in the graph below.

Residential and industrial growth continues

Wilson is in a time of strong growth. We’ve seen more residential housing units constructed in the last six years than at any other time in recent history. For context, there were 355 residential units built from 2011 to 2015. Currently we have 3,727 units in the pipeline, with more than 2,000 under construction or approved/in review. Considering the number of proposed units still to come, the city’s services will be in demand for years to come as we welcome more residents to our community.

Industrial investment is also at a record high. Billions of dollars in investment have been announced in the past three years, with Johnson and Johnson continuing construction of its $2 billion facility. Wilson is in the unique position of serving these customers with not only police and fire protection, but with water, sewer, electricity, and natural gas. While this growth is welcomed to secure Wilson’s future, it requires investment to deliver utility service in new areas.

Growth requires utility infrastructure investment

This year’s budget includes $16.7 million for public utility infrastructure across all utilities. Additional investment will be needed in the coming years for new electric transmission lines, the expansion of the water pressure zone, and sewer upgrades.

Nearly $2 million in included for general government capital items, including public safety vehicles and equipment, an environmental services truck, and street maintenance. We continue to see rising costs for vehicles and equipment, such as a 119 percent increase in the cost of police vehicles over the past decade. Additional investment in future years will also be required for general government, including a new fire station, fire trucks, and the proposed connection and expansion of Toisnot Park with Gillette Athletic Complex.  

Major projects

Several major projects were completed during the 2025-26 budget year. Many of these projects had lengthy planning and construction timelines spanning several budget years.

• Community Parks improvements – Thirteen parks received new playground equipment, draining and irrigation improvements, new landscaping and signage, and ADA accessibility. Some sites also received new shelters and picnic tables. Reid Street Community Center and the Freeman Roundhouse Museum both had extensive site improvements.
• Reid Street Community Center improvements – Following the pool deck replacement in spring 2025, the community center received a walking trail, two basketball courts, a playground, two picnic shelters, signage, landscaping and improved accessibility. 
• Wilson Mall demolition and stormwater park – Demotion of the Wilson Mall was completed in April 2026 and the site is now ready for redevelopment. Work continues on the stormwater park.  
• Downtown Stadium – Construction of the stadium was completed in March 2026, with Opening Day for the Wilson Warbirds on April 14.

Investment in Workforce

The budget allows for city employees to receive, on average, a 3 percent raise based on merit. Those would follow employee reviews later this year.

Six new positions are included in the budget, all related to growth. The positions are: facility service technician, code enforcement officer, two utility locators, and two fiber optic technicians.  

City remains in a strong financial position

The city remains in strong financial position as indicated by our AA bond rating by Fitch, AA- bond rating from Standard & Poor’s, and Aa3 from Moody’s. Additionally, the City of Wilson has received the GFOA Budget Award for nearly 40 consecutive years.

 Budget public hearing and next steps

The City Council will hold a budget work session on Thursday, June 4, at its morning meeting. Another budget work session is scheduled for June 10.

The public hearing on the budget will be held at the Thursday, June 18, meeting, beginning at 7 p.m. at Wilson City Hall, 112 Goldsboro St. E. State law requires City Council to adopt an annual budget before July 1. Any fee changes typically would go into effect July 1.

View the Proposed Budget (pdf)

View the Proposed Budget in Brief (pdf)

May 15, 2026

Wilson City Manager Rodger Lentz will present a proposed 2026-27 budget to the Wilson City Council next week, technically the start of formal budget discussions. 

But the budget process actually began last fall, with Finance staff compiling departmental requests, reviewing capital requests, and estimating revenue for the coming year. 

Beginning in February, departments with long-range capital needs explained those needs during morning City Council meetings. We’ve summarized those presentations below. 

Wilson Energy – February 2026

Assistant City Manager Will Aycock presented an overview of Wilson Energy’s operations and future needs. Wilson Energy serves 37,000 electric customers and 17,000 natural gas customers, with $150 million in combined annual billing. The systems must be maintained at a high level of reliability and performance while ensuring the systems can support future growth.  

New industry needs capacity – including not only the power but also the infrastructure to deliver it – high reliability and stable rates. Continual reinvestment is needed to sustain the high level of reliability of the electric system. This requires capital expenditures each year for specialized trucks and equipment and regular maintenance on the distribution system.  

Longer-range capital items were also discussed, including $8.5 million for a new substation at the Wilson Corporate Park and $24.5 million for a new substation and transmission in southeastern Wilson County.  

Water Resources – April 2026

Upgrades to the city’s water and wastewater systems were presented by Assistant City Manager Bill Bass in April. The upgrades will address continued growth in the Wilson Corporate Park and area around the I-95 corridor. For the water system, a new pressure zone is needed in that area to meet the expected long-tern demand. The current system was not built for the needs of the corporate park industries or the growth expected in that area. Replacing the existing system with a new pressure zone is needed to serve the area with the appropriate pressures needed for fire service and industrial uses.  The cost of the new system is $42 million. 

Wastewater upgrades needed include upsizing the Contentnea and Southside pump stations and forcemains, and upsizing the Southside gravity sewer. The cost of these improvements is $52 million.  

Wilson’s wastewater is treated at Hominy Wastewater Treatment Plant, with 31 pump stations and 324 miles of sewer mains making up the wastewater infrastructure. Drinking water is treated at the Toisnot Water Treatment Plant and Wiggins Mill Water Treatment Plant. Water infrastructure includes five elevated storage tanks, two booster pump stations, and 364 miles of water mains.  

 Wilson Fire/Rescue Services – May 2026

New industries and homes in western Wilson will require a new fire station, the city’s sixth, Assistant City Manager Albert Alston told Council in early May. The city’s call volume in this area has steadily increased over the past 25 years. These include both fire calls and emergency medical responses. 

The closest stations currently to the Wilson Corporate Park are 2 (Forest Hills Road) and 5 (Airport Boulevard), each about 10 minutes away, Alston said. The goal would to be to build Station 6 within that area and cut response times in half. 

The station would also require a fire engine, which would likely be a tower engine to deal with the industrial properties. Alston said the truck would cost at least $2.5 million and take four years to be built. The process of planning, building and equipping Station 6 will take years, Lentz said, and be budgeted over several years. 

Wilson Parks & Recreation – May 2026

Director Richard Frazier briefed the City Council about a long-term plan to combine J. Burt Gillette Athletic Complex and Toisnot Park into what would be known as the Sports and Wellness Campus. 

Gillette is already a huge sports tourism destination with its soccer fields, baseball diamonds and pickleball courts hosting local, regional and national tournaments, plus the all-children playground, Miracle League baseball stadium and splash pad are also draws. 

The proposal would link Gillette and Toisnot into one campus, including new restrooms, expanded parking, more than 6 miles of greenway trails for walking and biking, and additional pickleball courts. The setup would include dedicated locations for food trucks. 

The plans also call for the Wilson Rose Garden to be relocated from Herring Avenue to the corner of Corbett Avenue and Ward Boulevard. The new garden would be built to allow ADA accessibility and with better irrigation and bed construction. Meanwhile, the former garden location would become parking for the city’s Operation Center, easing a crunch there. 

The department is also proposing to decommission three parks – Norris, Five Points and Ripley Road – that would be used for future stormwater and floodway projects.  

Finally, Linear Park, East Street Park, Carolina Street Park and Woodard Park are all little used parks that might be better suited for housing, he said. 

The overall goal is to reduce maintenance costs and put that staff time into larger, better-used parks. 

Formal budget process begins next week

In North Carolina, cities and counties are creations of the state government and must follow a schedule set by the N.C. General Assembly.  

These requirements include: 

• Municipalities and counties follow a July-June budget year. 

• City or county managers (or their fiscal staffs) must present proposed budgets for the next fiscal year at their May meetings. 

• City and county governments must approve a balanced budget by June 30, the end of the current fiscal year. 

• Boards must allow public review of their budgets and are required to hold a public hearing prior to budget adoption. 

The schedule for Wilson is budget presentation, Thursday, May 21; City Council budget sessions, Thursday, June 4, and (if needed) Wednesday, June 10; public hearing and budget adoption, Thursday, June 18. 

The proposed budget will be posted online on Friday, May 22, and available for inspection on the city’s website. All City Council discussions will be open for public to attend and also broadcast on the city’s Vimeo channel. See our website for more details. 

We have more information about the budgeting process on the Wilson U section of our website. https://www.wilsonnc.org/residents/all-departments/communications-marketing/wilson-u/wilson-101