Whether through the public comment section or the actual public hearing during Tuesday’s Roanoke Rapids City Council meeting, the consensus was clear — most of the residents who spoke don’t want a tax increase.
Some of the residents who spoke used both the public comment section and the public hearing to air their concerns.
‘Stop the bleeding, lower our taxes’
Ephraim Brodsky, who has been pushing for the dissolution of the city’s police department, said, “Our department heads requested $6 million worth of repairs that aren’t being funded by this budget and the only department that is facing actual dollar cuts is parks and recreation. Let that sink in.”
The roads taxpayers drive to work on are crumbling, he said. “The public buildings they funded are deteriorating. The parks where they spend countless hours volunteering to coach youth sports are cut.”
Yet, he said, “Somehow we’re allocating $5.3 million to fund an optional municipal police department. Without our municipal police department we would be covered by the county sheriff’s office. We already pay for that service through our county tax line. We’re already essentially paying twice — once to the county for coverage we’d receive anyway — and again to the city for a parallel department that duplicates these services.”
He questioned whether funding a police department is defensible “when our roads have potholes that could swallow a tire; when our recreation centers need repairs; and when our parks, the spaces that serve every resident — the givers and takers alike — are being cut.”
Brodsky said the budget tells a story. “And it’s not a flattering one. It says that bureaucratic expansion matters more than basic infrastructure. It says that redundancy is acceptable while community spaces suffer. Most troubling is it says the givers who fuel this community with their taxes and their time don’t matter enough to maintain the roads they drive, or the parks where their children are playing. Our givers deserve better. Our entire community deserves better. It’s time to realign our priorities and ask ourselves, are we building the community we want or are we just funding the government that we’ve always had?”
Public safety, he said, is an illusion. “We don’t need three parallel police agencies operating out of Roanoke Rapids. The state troopers write tons of tickets in town and the sheriff’s office is more than capable of responding to our calls.”
Political signs in yards for the November sheriff’s race show that people want the sheriff to protect them. “Give the people what they want. Fix our roads, fix our recreation centers, invest in our people, stop the bleeding, lower our taxes.”
‘Giving to the point I can’t even afford groceries’
Kimberly Laughrey told the council, “Y’all have got me giving to the point I can’t even afford groceries. My property has gone way up in value and it ain’t no better than it was 10 years ago. That is all strictly based on the core decisions made by this council with that theater.”
She said, “I understand we cannot go backwards, but y’all have got to go forward. You cannot keep shaking the secret money tree you think is in my backyard. I struggle every day to balance my budget and I ain’t got no emergency fund.”
She said the city has to stop dipping into its fund balance. “Do you not see all these little towns on the news now? Every one of them is going under because they’ve been dipping into that fund. They don’t get their crap in order. They don’t budget their town like you have to budget your frickin’ house. I don’t have a money tree.”
Laughrey said the city needs to figure out how many people are not paying their taxes and go after them. “Get those absentee landlords that have properties that have allowed them to go blighted to where we have people living in them doing God knows what with God knows whom. The property goes down. It costs us more money because we have got to have cops going over there cleaning it, firemen going over there risking their lives going into these hellholes that people have been living in with no electricity and no business being in there.”
She urged the council to balance the budget “without bankrupting this town.”
When she first moved into her house, Laughrey said she felt safe in Roanoke Rapids, despite her father warning her to not move to South Rosemary. “I did my research. There was no crime where I lived. I now will not go out of my house after dark. I will not answer my door to anyone I don’t physically recognize. Y’all have got to get this town together.”
Referencing the voluntary dismissal of a civil suit filed by former police Chief Bobby Martin, she said the city’s no comment because of state personnel laws has left citizens in a vacuum “and everyone in this town has decided that every single one of you was in on something crooked. You probably were not, but you leave an information vacuum and when you do not provide some kind of information to the people, you get those kinds of comments.”
‘I don’t believe the budget can be cut’
Donna Patterson told the council, “I don’t believe the budget can be cut, but I think there are things that we can do and the city can do to raise funds before raising taxes and to save money to improve things. I want the city to consider the fact that food, gas, and rent has increased, but pay and the minimum wage has not.”
She believes that citizens, businesses, organizations, and churches can step up. “I know some already do, but many more can step up — picking up trash, repairing homes, donating food and clothes, and helping the elderly with chores.”
City code enforcement has to step up its game and fine people for trash and dilapidated buildings and houses. “The city can give people time to fix or tear down buildings. If they won’t or can’t, the city can take them to court and either tear down the buildings or sell them to property developers.”
Then Patterson said there is a need for more businesses in the city, security camera programs to help reduce crime, and mandating firefighters not use trucks at lunch. “I was wondering how much used property and unused property the city owns and could it be sold or traded for something that we need.”
As far as business, she said, “We are in dire need of a fish hatchery. Besides bringing up our fish numbers, it would be a great place for tours and school visits.”
‘We need to look forward’
Susan Barmer, a Roanoke Rapids resident for the past 58 years, told the council, “We need to look forward. I’m here to primarily support Mr. Brodsky’s bold alternative proposal to your budget that raises our taxes. His plan includes abolishment of the Roanoke Rapids Police Department with the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office assuming those duties.”
She said she was initially skeptical. “Mr. Brodsky has a compelling argument.”
Barmer said it is an idea that is being done across the country and in North Carolina. “I’m not an expert and do not know everything about this proposal, but I think it’s worthy of discussion and consideration. Mr. Brodsky took a chance on Roanoke Rapids and moved his young family to our town. He certainly has a vested interest in Roanoke Rapids being a thriving community.”
She believes the county has a strong sheriff’s office led by a capable sheriff. “If anyone could take on this responsibility of policing Roanoke Rapids and make it successful, they could under Tyree Davis’s leadership. This just might be an opportune time to be bold.”
Barmer said the 27870 ZIP code has approximately 26,000 residents, which is more than half the total population of the county. “Has Roanoke Rapids received its fair share from the county taxes? I dare say we have not. So you raise our taxes, you dip into the fund balance. I know it’s a thankless job.”
She then asked what are the city’s plans for the 2027-28 fiscal year. “All goods and services are slated to increase due to the inflation we’re experiencing in this country. Therefore, the city’s expenses will increase each year, requiring more increases or cuts. I don’t think we should bank on a water park that may or may not open in 2029 to save us. It’s time for some forward thinking for our community.”
‘I’m against taxes in any form’
Mike Hedgepeth told the council, “I’m against taxes in any form. I’m very conservative, but I’m not dumb enough to think that the city, the state, the county, and the federal government can provide the goods and services that we need without us paying taxes.”
“Tax rate increases are occurring throughout the state,” he said, “because it’s a daggone good source of income. They know they’re going to get your money.”
Especially an opponent of income taxes, Hedgepeth advocated for a citywide sales tax. “I know that’s not what everybody wants to hear. I’m for a citywide sales tax because every single individual sitting in this room is going to pay a sales tax.”
He said everybody needs to pay a sales tax. “I don’t care if you feel like you’re entitled to not pay. If you're entitled to everything, then you’re entitled to pay a sales tax.”
‘A lot of different ways we can raise money’
Troy Williams said, “There’s a lot of different ways we can raise money.”
He said his taxes have gone up 400 percent. “I had four houses that went up to $182,000 in one year. An average house in Roanoke Rapids went up anywhere from $5,000 to $15,000.”
Williams said based on an estimated 6,895 houses in Roanoke Rapids and each one rising in value by $10,000, that would equal a value of around $68 million. “That’s more money this town should be collecting taxes on. I’m being told that we’re not bringing in as much money. I don’t understand that because if each house has averaged just going up $10,000, I’ve got two that went up 60-some thousand. I’ve got two that went up $30,000 that we need to be drawing money off of.”
‘We’re having to pay for it’
Joey Davis brought up the sale of the theater and how the city still owes what he says is $5 million on it. “You want to cut this. You want to raise taxes, but yet you still owe $5 million on something that was sold at a giveaway price and we’re having to pay for it.”
‘We’re still asking for that 2 cents’
Brian Forbes, commander of the Roanoke Valley Rescue Squad, reminded the council, “That we are still asking for that two cents. I know there’s a bunch of people here that don’t want to hear that, but I will be willing to speak with any individual about why I think that is extremely valuable for our city.”
The rescue squad has a 1-cent per $100 tax that was approved by a referendum. “We can turn that into much more than what we’re asking for in return. We are volunteers. If we lose the squad, you lose the volunteers. Those same jobs that do end up with city employees. That hits the retirement system. It will end up making the payroll go up.”
Forbes also encouraged the city to form a budget committee. “We are right on the cusp of having to make a decision. There’s not enough time to go through and fix this size of problem that the city has.”
He said, “I think any major thing you do other than raising taxes is going to be a knee-jerk reaction. I think what the city needs to do is create a budget committee to start working on these things a year out. I think in the short-term, unfortunately, I believe we’re going to have to raise taxes to cover it until we can come up with a better plan.”
