RALEIGH — At its March meeting, the North Carolina Local Government Commission approved a request for $135 million in revenue bonds for the fast-growing town of Holly Springs in Wake County.
The town has nearly doubled in population since 2010, going from around 25,000 to 49,000 residents, and the bonds are needed to upgrade the town’s water treatment facility to take its daily capacity from 6 million to 8 million gallons.
An increase in water/sewer rate hikes ranging from 9% to 15% will impact citizens of Holly Springs over the next five years through 2031.
State Treasurer Brad Briner chairs the Local Government Commission (LGC), which is statutorily tasked with overseeing the fiscal health and determining the borrowing capacity of more than 1,100 local governments in the state.
Beyond Holly Springs, the LGC approved funding for communities across eight counties:
- $29.8 million to Greensboro (Guilford County) for municipal projects, including $21 million to retrofit First Horizon Coliseum ahead of the 2027 ACC Basketball Tournament, plus fleet garage improvements and soil remediation
- $27 million to Jackson County for a new County Administration Building to relieve overcrowding, plus Fairview School renovations and a high school track upgrade
- $15.3 million to N.C. Capital Facilities Finance Agency (Wake County) to refinance prior bonds for Endeavor Charter School’s K-12 campus in Wake Forest
- $13.7 million to Kernersville (Forsyth County) for multiple parks and municipal projects, including soccer field fencing, a community pool, botanical garden renovations, library roof replacement and police locker room upgrades
- $9 million to Wayne County for building a new Rosewood Middle School and expanding a fifth grade wing at Rosewood Elementary
- $8.5 million to Wilkesboro (Wilkes County) to replace raw water intake with a shared intake along the Yadkin River and install new water lines
- $8.5 million to Hillsborough (Orange County) to renovate and expand a public works building, adding a welding shop, office space and storage
- $6.7 million to North Wilkesboro (Wilkes County) for its share in a joint Yadkin River water intake project
- $3.5 million to Dunn (Harnett County) to reimburse land purchases for future expansion of the city’s water treatment plant
The LGC also heard a warning about the town of Littleton, which has an estimated population of 450. The Halifax County town was flagged for failing to submit required financial statements since December 2020.
LGC Secretary Denise Canada issued a letter to Littleton town officials, requesting them to appear before the LGC at its next meeting in April.
A press release from Briner’s office said Canada’s letter “expressed a lack of confidence in the town’s ability to return to a state of financial compliance” and warned the town the LCG could take control of its finances if noncompliance continues.
