Jun 3

Jun 3 Kinston budget hearing turns tense as residents press council on taxes and services

Kinston residents pressed City Council members Tuesday to do more on property taxes, housing, youth programs, senior needs and budget transparency during a public hearing on the city’s proposed fiscal year 2026-27 budget.

The hearing turned tense when Mayor Kareem Moore ordered one speaker removed after comments directed at Interim City Manager Ralph Clark.

Clark presented a recommended budget totaling $126,463,800 across all 20 city funds with no increases for water, sewer, electric, stormwater, solid waste, the downtown municipal service district or the Global TransPark fire rate.

“The budget also includes a three-cent reduction in the ad valorem tax rate and there are no other increases in your water, sewer or your downtown municipal service district,” Clark said.

Clark said the budget had been posted on the city’s website, placed in the city clerk’s office and made available at the Kinston-Lenoir County Public Library. He said the proposal is scheduled for formal consideration at the council’s next regular meeting June 16, after any adjustments resulting from the public hearing.

Residents question tax cut and spending priorities

The proposed tax cut drew criticism from residents who said it was not enough after property revaluation and higher housing costs.

Tanya Sutton said council members had campaigned on public housing and affordable housing, but said she did not see those priorities reflected in the budget. She questioned spending on police vehicles and demolitions while residents face higher costs for food, gas, utilities and housing.

“At what point do you take some of this money and give it back to the people that’s paid that money?” Sutton said.

Sutton also said the city needs to do more for children, including recreation and summer programming.

Hinda Moore asked Clark whether he had fully considered residents’ needs before presenting the proposal and urged him to review the budget again if more could be done without overburdening taxpayers.

Quarla Blackwell criticized the budget for what she said was a lack of funding for affordable housing, emergency shelter, youth programs, neighborhood revitalization, public transportation and digital equity.

“Zero dollars in this budget is for housing,” Blackwell said.

Blackwell questioned capital spending on equipment and vehicles and asked council members to redirect at least $1 million from capital outlay to what she called people-centered services. She also asked the city to consider an equity impact statement for large allocations, a public budget dashboard, neighborhood budget hearings and a freeze on some nonessential purchases.

Speaker removed during hearing

Blackwell was removed from the meeting after saying the budget “reflect the age and the color of the man that gave it to us.”

Moore directed police to remove her, then addressed the audience.

“It’s important, citizens, that we maintain respect for everybody,” Moore said. “You have a right to speak at the public hearing, but you don’t have the right to come in here and harass or make racial comments. Let’s stick to the hearing.”

After Blackwell’s removal, Tonyu Marshall spoke in support of Clark and said she believed the current council was being blamed for issues that predated its term.

“At least Mr. Manager brought the taxes down,” Marshall said. “Perhaps it is not as low as some people might want it to be, and there is more work that can be done, and I trust that you will do it.”

Marshall said she hoped council members would continue explaining decisions to residents and said the city should examine whether all spending is justified.

Public asks for clearer budget information

Several speakers asked for clearer explanations of how the city spends money and how budget decisions affect residents.

Rosemary Jones said she understood concerns about the tax rate, but said residents also expect the city to maintain streets, pipes, buildings and other infrastructure.

“We want infrastructure, our pipes, our roads, buildings have trees growing up on it,” Jones said. “Who wants to come here if our city looks like that? This all costs money.”

Robert Jones urged the city to make funding sources clearer on agenda items so residents can distinguish between General Fund spending and other city funds.

“The General Fund is what we, the citizens, need to be mainly concerned about,” he said.

Edith Joyner spoke about children, seniors and public safety, saying children need places to go when school is out and elderly residents need safe housing.

Lateefah Irvine returned to the podium later in the hearing to discuss emergency access and abandoned property. She said a facility she operates had difficulty getting ambulance access during a February snowstorm because streets were not plowed. She also said an abandoned house next to the facility has created safety concerns, including snakes entering the property.

Council discusses housing, community support and another cent

After the public hearing closed, council members responded to residents’ concerns.

Councilman Antonio Hardy said residents should understand that the county assesses property values, but he also said the city needs to set aside money for future housing and economic development.

“We need to take a part of that money and put it aside so we can partner with somebody to bring some housing to this community,” Hardy said.

Hardy also said he wanted $34,000 restored for community support.

Councilman Sammy Aiken said council members have been talking with developers and said the city should form a committee involving real estate professionals, developers and other stakeholders to develop a plan. Aiken said developers are also looking at surrounding communities and that tax differences and incentives influence where they build.

Mayor Pro Tem Felicia Solomon asked Clark whether staff could look at an additional 1-cent tax rate reduction, which would bring the total proposed cut to 4 cents.

“Every cent matters,” Solomon said. “I would ask if we could possibly look at a four-cent reduction.”

Clark said staff could work on it.

“If that’s your wishes, we’ll work at it and incorporate it into the final budget,” Clark said. “We believe we can do it.”

Solomon also said she supported some form of organizational support funding for groups serving children and seniors, even if the process changes from past years.

Councilwoman Barbara Seaforth said Kinston is seeing signs of growth tied to the Global TransPark and aviation-related development, but said housing remains important.

“Kinston is growing,” Seaforth said. “It is on the rise.”

Councilman Les Lipford said taxes fund city government and services, including police, fire and city employees. He said council members are trying to balance competing needs.

“It’s hard with this budget of trying to please everybody,” Lipford said. “It’s not easy.”