HICKORY — City Manager Warren Wood presented a recommended Fiscal Year 2026-2027 budget of $162,760,671 to City Council on May 19, the city said May 20, 2026. The city described a balanced plan covering operations, capital improvements, and debt service, a 2.3% increase over the current fiscal year, with the property-tax rate held flat.
About 80% of financial operations sit in three funds, the city said.
The General Fund is $83,078,681, a 5.3% increase. The property-tax rate remains 46 cents per $100 of assessed value. The budget includes a one-time $1 million allocation to double street-resurfacing funding and an additional $300,000 for the annual sidewalk maintenance and extension program.
The Water and Sewer Fund proposes an increase that would add $3 to the average Hickory residential water-and-sewer bill, to improve infrastructure and maintain enterprise operations.
The Solid Waste Fund proposes a $1 increase to bring the monthly sanitation fee to $30. The city said the change would offset rising operating costs and make the fund entirely self-supporting for the first time in its 30-year history.
As Hickory nears completion of its 2014 Bond Program, the recommended budget shifts toward Hickory 2050, described as a long-range plan centered on public infrastructure, water security and resiliency, and future economic growth.
“Water security is one of the City’s top priorities, both currently and in the long term,” Wood said. “We share the Catawba-Wateree River Basin with numerous other cities and counties, making it our collective responsibility to protect. Under the Hickory 2050 plan, Hickory is prioritizing programs and projects that enhance water and sewer system resiliency and redundancy, improve operational efficiency, and help us prepare for future growth.”
Long-term projects listed include advanced metering infrastructure; a secondary raw-water intake and raw-water resiliency improvements; increased water storage, production, and wastewater-treatment capacity; interconnectivity with surrounding municipal water systems; and flood mitigation for critical sewer infrastructure. Funding those projects would involve a 25-year strategy combining multiple options.
The city said the proposal is prepared under the Local Government Budget and Fiscal Control Act and GAAP. Council invited comment at a public hearing Tuesday, June 2, at 6 p.m. during the regular meeting at the Julian G. Whitener Municipal Building, 76 North Center Street. The full recommended budget is at www.hickorync.gov/budget.
The May 20 notice does not report a Council adoption vote or the current average water-and-sewer bill before the $3 increase.
Official release from City of Hickory, May 20, 2026. https://www.hickorync.gov/hickory-city-manager-proposes-1627m-budget-fy-2026-2027-focus-infrastructure-and-hickory-2050
