'We're not gonna take it': Leland residents rally against tax hike

While Leland leaders are now looking to raise property taxes 17% as opposed to the originally proposed 70% hike, some residents remain united against any increase.

Despite the town hall building being closed, around 100 Leland residents gathered outside the presumably locked building on Saturday, rallying against a tax increase of any amount.

One message was repeated through the morning: "We're not gonna take it." The Twisted Sister song rang out over the crowd, who joined in for the chorus.

"No tax increase," resident Doug Field said. "Not 17% − 0%."

Brunswick Forest resident Rhonda Florian founded "Better Government 4 Leland," the group behind Saturday's "Stop the Madness Rally."

"We are all citizens and residents of Leland, North Carolina," Florian said. "It does not matter if we have lived here for 50 years or five weeks. Every one of us is a citizen of this town and we are all in the same boat. We are all getting screwed, every one of us. We are all in the same boat and it's really important that we all come together in that boat and start paddling in the same direction... If we won't paddle in the same direction, we're gonna all drown."

Earlier this spring, Leland staff presented their proposed budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year, which begins in July. That proposed budget totaled $56 million and included a nearly 70% property tax rate increase to help make up the 30% increase from the 2023-24 budget, which totaled $42.8 million.

At Saturday's rally, many community members made it clear they didn't want their taxes raised at all. Funds they hope to see cut from the 2024-25 budget include those specifically dedicated to expanding town hall, raising staff salaries and purchasing a new fire truck, among others.

During a special budget workshop on April 9, council agreed to direct Town Manager David Hollis and his staff to draft a revised proposed 2024-25 budget, one that raised taxes just 17% rather than 70%. The meeting was a workshop only and there was no public comment period.

On April 9, councilmember Bill McHugh said some of the many priorities they brought to town staff were infrastructure, roads and public safety.

McHugh broke down how those priorities demand an increase in funds, which the town looked to obtain by raising taxes. For example, in looking to improve roads and travel infrastructure, the town pitched budgeting $5.5 million to resurface and improve five miles of roads in the town, beginning a 20-year lifecycle program aiming to resurface 5% of the town's roads each fiscal year.

McHugh said the town receives $2 million between gas taxes and motor vehicle registration fees. The rest of the $3.5 million dollars for that project, he said, would be new money and equate to a tax rate increase of 5.1 cents.

Adding staff and equipment to the town’s police and fire departments made up another large chunk of the increase in the budget. The originally proposed budget also included investments in public parks, future property acquisition, sidewalk improvements and the emergency contingency fund.

“Taking any of these items on their own, I think most people would agree, it sounds great,” McHugh said. “But when you add them up in an aggregate, the bill is huge and we understand that.”

McHugh added that one of council’s concerns is continued inflation, and whether the town would be able to afford these improvements if they continue to be pushed into the future.

Leland Mayor Brenda Bozeman said each member of the council met with Hollis to “come up with a solution to our tax rate.” Members of the council said they heard the community’s cries that the 70% hike was too much.

Hollis said town staff could devise a new proposed budget based on the tax rate the council decided would be appropriate and what investments would not make the cut.

“…If you want to reduce the tax rate in some way, there’s going to be some balance there of what service improvement that’s been offered would have to be reduced as well,” Hollis said.

Council ultimately agreed to direct Hollis and town staff to reassess the budget and bring council a new one that would only raise the property tax rate by four cents to 27 cents, a 17% raise from the last budget year’s tax rate of 23 cents per $100 in valuation. It's unclear what will be cut from the originally proposed budget to make up the difference.

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The council is next scheduled to meet for a regular meeting on April 18 at 6 p.m. According to the meeting's agenda, a new budget proposal is expected to be presented during that meeting, ahead of the public comment section. A special budget public hearing is expected to be scheduled for May 2.

The Leland Town Council is expected to adopt a final budget by June 30.

Jamey Cross covers Brunswick County for the StarNews. Reach her at jbcross@gannett.com or message her on Twitter/X @jameybcross.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Leland, NC residents urge leaders to forego proposed tax increase