Wilmington drops proposed property tax increase

WILMINGTON — The Wilmington City Council has made some major changes were made to the proposed budget.

The biggest is dropping the 2.2 cent proposed property tax increase. That increase was going to help pay to beautify downtown, fix roadways and hire about three dozen new police officers.

The police department will get more officers, just not as many as originally planned.

Some residents say they would rather pay higher property taxes if it helps keep them safe.

Wilmington resident Catherine Newton said, “I think police officers, more of them because of the crime we’ve seen in the area and we’d like to see that decrease.

The changes are not permanent yet.

City Council plans to vote on the final budget June 5.