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The Local Government Commission, in a 5-3 vote on Tuesday, approved the city of Rocky Mount’s request to finance construction of a replacement Fire Station No. 2 at the site of the present facility just southwest of downtown.
McKinley Wooten, an assistant N.C. Revenue secretary who Tuesday served on the commission’s board in place of N.C. Revenue Secretary Ronald Penny, made the motion, with a second from N.C. Auditor Jessica Holmes. The vote came after a failed motion by N.C. Treasurer Dale Folwell, with a second from board member Paul Butler Jr., to deny the city’s request.
In his role as state treasurer, Folwell serves as the chair of the commission’s board.
The action to approve the financing request means that the city can move forward with an $11.4 million project to be paid for on an installment basis. Fire Station No. 2 is at the northwest corner of West Raleigh Boulevard and South Grace Street, and the facility dates back to 1977 but is not in service.
During the commission meeting Tuesday, Folwell made clear that a majority of a previous City Council in 2021 had the chance to give the go ahead to approve replacing Fire Station No. 2 at a cost of slightly more than $4 million but tabled the item.
Folwell, emphasizing his belief that “every cent matters,” especially for low-income people and people who live on fixed incomes, said that his opposition to the city’s request was based on the current cost to replace Fire Station No. 2 with a new one.
While Holmes supported the city’s request, she told Folwell that she echoes his concerns that every penny counts.
“And I agree that the city should go back and make sure that they are as efficient with tax dollars as absolutely possible,” Holmes said.
N.C. Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, who also serves on the commission’s board, said that her vote for approving the city’s request was for the safety of residents.
“This has been long in coming — and the citizens deserve better,” Marshall said.
The Local Government Commission is part of the state treasurer’s office and assists local governments in North Carolina in decision-making involving large financing projects.
One point of concern with the commission’s staff that came out at the Tuesday board meeting was about the city having decided to engage in discussions to acquire land in Nash County and across North Old Carriage Road from Nash Community College for economic development purposes. The land had once been considered as a site of a possible casino and entertainment complex.
According to the commission’s staff, the city expressed interest in early 2023 about having an application at some point brought before the Local Government Commission about the replacement Fire Station No. 2 but that reports surfaced later that year about the city’s interest in the land.
The commission’s staff felt like that this would adversely affect the amount of cash available for the city to be able to address long-term municipal capital needs.
The commission’s staff also noted that city finance records show that the city currently is paying substantial amounts of money in interest on a bond issue that helped provide financing to make the Rocky Mount Event Center downtown a reality in 2018.
During the Tuesday board meeting, City Manager Keith Rogers Jr. said that the municipality has the cash to fund long-term capital improvement projects.
Regarding the event center, Rogers said that the facility is progressing in the right direction financially.
As for the land in Nash County, the City Council in December voted to acquire 336 acres at a cost of $15.2 million, with the city to secure financing not to exceed 59 months to close on buying the property.
Folwell last month made clear his concern about the city having approved a financing package created in a way that it would not have to come before the Local Government Commission.
Folwell also said Tuesday that the commission’s staff had advised the city that financing the purchase of the land over that 59-month period would limit the city’s ability financially if any other contingencies occurred.
During the Tuesday board meeting, Mayor Sandy Roberson said that the whole conversation at the time associated with gaming and entertainment districts created an understanding of the value of the land.
More specifically, Roberson said that he believes what develops there, with site controls by the city, is going to have a tremendous impact on Rocky Mount for decades.
Roberson said that there was not enough time to get an application before the commission regarding financing for the purchase of the land and that the city put together what it could to secure financing.
Roberson also pointed out that the majority of the City Council, in a vote last month to adopt a municipal operating budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year, had agreed on his recommendation to set the property tax rate at 58 cents per $100 in valuation, which provides for having financial reserves. Rogers had recommended a revenue-neutral tax rate of 56 cents.
“We are committed to making sure that the city of Rocky Mount remains healthy from a fiscal standpoint,” Roberson said.
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