Town of Leland proposed $50 million budget for 2026-27 submitted to town council

LELAND, NC (WWAY) — The town of Leland is one step closer to approving it’s budget for fiscal year 2026-2027, with one major change being discussed.

The proposed $50 million budget includes a reduction in the tax rate and focuses on several areas, including public safety and ongoing projects.

The proposed budget includes $2.5 million for road resurfacing projects, $750,000 in emergency contingency funds, and $250,000 to the pedestrian infrastructure capital project fund

Money would be allocated for new public safety positions, including 2 police officers for the traffic division, 3 firefighters, and a fire captain, along with an IT analyst focused on public safety technology and equipment.

The town’s finance director, Carly Hagg, said public safety is one of the areas they focus on when building a budget.

“Public safety and infrastructure are our two main priorities when we are putting together the budget. Almost 40 percent of our budget goes to public safety and that’s just to their direct operational cost.”

The proposed tax rate change would see a reduction from 27 cents per $100 of property value to 25 cents per $100 of property value.

At that reduction, a homeowner with a house valued at $350,000 would have paid $945 under the old tax rate, while with the proposed new tax rate, they would pay $70 less in taxes per year.