High Point council weighs firefighter separation allowance and homeowner aid as staff finalizes FY26–27 budget

High Point’s City Council spent its special budget work session continuing to finalize the FY 2026–2027 spending plan, focusing council discussion on a possible special separation allowance (SSA) for firefighters and a proposed low‑income homeowner assistance program.

City Manager Tasha B told the council staff circulated actuarial reports from Greensboro and Raleigh to give preliminary context on SSA costs and said High Point has not yet completed its own actuarial analysis. “We did reach out to our accountant to figure out what it would take for us to do this analysis for the city of High Point,” she said, adding that staff will work to deliver timing and cost estimates for a local study.

The manager also summarized staff’s early work on a homeowner assistance proposal intended to help low‑income households with property tax relief and to expand down‑payment assistance. Staff estimated that, depending on program rules and income cutoffs, roughly 200–250 households who do not qualify for other assistance programs might be eligible, but cautioned the figure is a preliminary ballpark.

Councilors pressed staff on program design and administration. Members asked that any homeowner assistance include intake checks to determine whether applicants already receive veterans, disability, circuit‑breaker, elderly, or other assistance, and stressed coordination with lenders and county partners when appropriate. Staff said program guidelines, usage data, and pilot intake should inform any future appropriation.

The SSA discussion centered on cost assumptions, timing, and whether benefits should be adopted locally or memorialized at the state level. Council members noted actuarial examples that used long‑term salary growth assumptions (one example cited a 7.75% assumption) and urged caution about adopting a recurring, sizable benefit without High Point‑specific cost modeling. Staff said Gastonia implemented an SSA in 2024 and that initial information suggests implementation costs can reach in the neighborhood of $1 million for some jurisdictions, but emphasized more data on recipient counts is needed before local projections become reliable.

Several councilors argued for lobbying the North Carolina General Assembly to consider a statewide approach so benefits are consistent across municipalities; others warned that a state mandate without funding would still shift the fiscal burden to local governments. The manager said the last substantial legislative study of firefighter SSA occurred in 2019 and that staff had not seen current state funding to offset similar costs for police mandates.

Council members also reviewed elements already included in the proposed budget: grant funding and city allocations to add personnel per apparatus, and the inclusion of safety/training officer positions that staff said advance a five‑ and ten‑year plan. The manager noted these items and broader market adjustments and capital projects together are driving expansionary pressure in the budget.

On revenue questions, staff told the council the budget could require roughly two cents on the tax rate to sustain current operations and expansion items; staff materials cited a revenue‑neutral rate around 48 and presented a recommended rate near 56 as part of the proposed budget model. Council discussion stressed tradeoffs between tax increases and reductions in planned capital or programmatic expansions.

Council members raised separate but related concerns about electric utility costs and data centers’ impacts on delivery charges. Staff said pending state legislation is intended to make data centers bear the direct costs of new electric infrastructure and that there are bills under consideration which could limit transfers from municipal electric funds to the general fund. High Point historically has not used electric fund transfers to balance the general fund, staff said.

What’s next: staff will scope and return a High Point‑specific actuarial estimate for SSA and provide draft program guidelines and usage projections for the homeowner assistance proposal. Council confirmed a special meeting on Monday, June 1 at 4:00 p.m. and aimed to bring options back for consideration in the run‑up to a June 15 budget vote.

Votes at a glance: the council adopted the meeting agenda (motion made, second recorded; mayor announced the motion passed) and later approved a motion to adjourn.