Holden Beach maintains tax rate, awards bonuses in proposed budget

By Jenna Lapp Brunswick Beacon staff writer
 Jun 12, 2025

The town of Holden Beach has set a public hearing date of June 17 at 5 p.m. for its proposed fiscal year 2025-2026 budget, which will keep the property tax rate at $.14 per $100 value and increase the base rate for water and sewer usage by $3.90.

The Holden Beach Board of Commissioners made revisions to the $31,743,027 budget during its June 3 special meeting, including a unanimous motion to give out $5,000 worth of bonuses to the staff who were directly involved in the recent completion of the town’s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) agreement.

“The budget priorities are high quality infrastructure, community improvements, accessibility, communications and growing human capital,” Interim Town Manager Christy Ferguson said during the June 3 meeting. “Challenges that we see are unknown assistance from other levels of government going forward, and inflation.”

The proposed FY 25-26 budget includes, among other expenditures, the construction of a concert venue, funding for pier property planning and a 2.5% cost of living adjustment (COLA) for town employees.

The town’s general fund revenue for the next fiscal year is projected to match general fund expenditures at $4,802,398, which is $62,485 more than in the fiscal year 2024-2025. Of that revenue, $3,335,278 is projected to come from ad valorem (property) taxes, a $646 decrease from the FY 24-25 budget.

The largest chunk of the town’s general fund expenditures, $1,559,672, is for the police department, which will undergo a restructuring initiative to improve recruitment and retention. Police Chief Jeremy Dixon gave an update on this process during the May 20 board meeting.

“We increased the training budget,” Dixon said, “and the training budget is going to cover the fitness programs as well as books, uniforms, things like that.”

The town is projected to spend $185,000 on professional services in FY 25-26 — $65,000 more than the $120,000 it spent on professional services in FY 24-25. This expenditure includes the bond attorney and financial advisor that the town recently hired for assistance in creating a pier referendum, which is projected to cost between $25,000 and $30,000.

The proposed budget also includes a transfer of $100,000 to the town’s beach renourishment fund. Last fiscal year, the town transferred $126,988 to that fund.

Planning and inspections department expenditures are projected to be $508,486, which increased $44,732 from last fiscal year’s total of $463,754. This is due to incentive increases for reaching required training certificate levels, the budget message states.

Public works, streets, building and grounds expenditures are expected to total $883,503 in FY 25-26, a $353,450 jump from the projected FY 24-25 amount of $530,053. The increase is primarily to cover the cost of $300,000 worth of engineering designs and permitting for a phased stormwater initiative.

Sanitation expenses are projected to cost $236,842 in FY 25-26, which is $21,356 more than FY 24-25’s projected cost of $215,486.

Beach, parks, access and recreation tourism (BPART) fund revenues, designated for beach preservation and tourism related expenses, are projected to match expenditures at $5,757,489. The projected FY 25-26 BPART revenue is $482,190 less than last fiscal year’s total of $6,239,679. The largest component of the projected BPART fund revenue is $4,050,000 from accommodation tax, roughly the same amount as in FY 24-25.

The total parking revenue estimate for FY 25-26 is $916,255. Revenue generated from paid parking goes into the BPART fund.

The town is projected to spend $314,024 in FY 25-26 to maintain the pier property and make debt payments on the property’s purchase. Pier parking revenue will generate $128,275 for the town, and rent from the pier’s six camping sites is projected to make $22,000.

During FY 25-26, BPART is projected to fund capital projects including the construction of a concert venue on Block Q and design and engineering services for the pier project. It also includes a $600,000 transfer to the beach and inlet capital reserve fund.

Water and sewerThe base rate for monthly water usage will increase from $22.72 in FY 24-25 to $26.62 in FY 25-26. The base rate for wastewater will increase from $16.10 to $20.

Additionally, the town will end its practice of not charging for the first 2,000 gallons of water and wastewater used monthly by residential, business and commercial customers. The town will not change its rates for metered water usage.

A household that typically uses an amount between 2,001 and 6,000 gallons of water per month, for example, will pay $14.86 more per month for that amount of water in FY 25-26 compared to the last fiscal year. This calculation is based on the town’s fee schedule, updated Dec. 17, 2024, and accounts for the $3.90 base rate increase, as well as the first 2,000 gallons of water, which cost $5.46 per thousand gallons.

A household that produces between 2,001 and 6,000 gallons of wastewater per month in FY 25-26 will pay an additional $18.80 compared to what it paid for the same amount of wastewater FY 24-25. This includes the $3.90 base rate increase and $14.90 for the first 2,000 gallons, which cost $7.45 per thousand gallons.

ADA agreement completion, employee bonuses During the May 20 Board of Commissioners meeting, the board approved an ADA completion agreement that marked the end of a two-year process focused on improving beach accessibility. Consequently, during the June 3 budget workshop, the board unanimously agreed to budget $5,000 total in bonuses for the staff who completed the work.

The town of Holden Beach entered the Key Bridge Foundation Americans with Disabilities Act mediation agreement with resident Martha Myers in April 2023. Myers attended the May 20 board meeting to give her final comments.

“My hope is that other area beach towns, on their own, will take a close look at their facilities, programs and services with regard to accessibility,” Myers said, “and maybe even learn from Holden Beach.”

To complete its obligations in the agreement, the town replaced sidewalks, installed slip resistant surfaces, installed accessible paths to the beach and ensured access to restrooms, among other actions, the agreement notes.

“It took a whole lot more work than I think it was really anticipated to start with,” Commissioner Rick Smith said during the budget workshop, “and I think that our staff went above and beyond what was actually required.”

The town spent more than $727,000 of BPART funding in the last two years to meet the ADA requirements, Ferguson said. Planning and Inspections Director Tim Evans served as the ADA compliance specialist during the process.

“[The staff] got them done by the deadline for the ADA agreement,” Commissioner Rick Paarfus said. “Not often you get multiple projects going and you cross the finish line in perfect timing, so that’s a big deal.”

This story does not cover every aspect of the proposed budget. The full budget is available for viewing at town hall.

Jenna Lapp is the staff writer for The Brunswick Beacon. Feel free to reach out with comments, questions and tips at jlapp@brunswickbeacon.com.

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