On Monday, Town Manager Becky Hawke presented a recommended budget for the Town of Matthews for the fiscal year 2025-2026, aimed at ensuring operational needs are met and high-quality services continue for the community. Detailed during the Town Board meeting, the balanced budget totals $41,313,635, which is an 8.5% increase from the previous fiscal year's adopted budget. According to the Town of Matthews, this includes a General Fund Budget of $37,646,985—a 4.4% increase over the last year.
The new budget plans to quickly address the community's growth, with a slight property tax increase to support several public projects. The property tax has been set at 27.95-cents per $100 valuation, a necessary hike from the previous rate of 26.65-cents per $100 to partially fund debt service payments on issued bonds. The $11,049,512 in general obligation bonds, issued in April as part of a larger $35 million bond referendum approved by voters in 2022, are slated to upgrade parks, recreation, and transport-related projects.
Matthews residents should also prepare for a bump in their stormwater fees beginning in fiscal year 2026. The approved fee increase, set out in February across the Town's tiered residential and commercial system, is to cover baseline operational stormwater expenses. Becky Hawke expects this to be approximately an additional $2.12 per month for the average homeowner, aimed at reinforcing stormwater services for the next three years.
The move promises to create a stable financial roadmap for Matthews with projected stormwater revenues reaching $1,485,605. "The property tax increase will fund the annual debt service payments that will begin in FY 2026," Hawke explained in the budget presentation. She also noted that the fees from the Town of Matthews' stormwater services are expected to fully cover necessary operational expenses into the near future.
