• Keeps the property tax rate the lowest of all municipalities in Wake County by limiting the increase to 1.5 cents
• Continues funding to complete 125 street, sidewalk, parks, and other capital projects while pausing 68 for reassessment
• Holds the line on expanding staff positions for the second consecutive year 

Cary, N.C. – At their June 26, 2025, meeting, the Cary Town Council approved a $510.9 million budget for Fiscal Year 2026, which runs from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. The budget allocates $420.3 million for operations and $90.7 million for capital projects, representing a modest 2.7% increase over the current FY25 budget.

“Speaking on behalf of my Council colleagues and staff, our goal with this budget was to keep the property tax increase as low as possible while still providing the high quality of services and experiences Cary residents expect and deserve,” said Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht. “The Council spent the better part of the year working on this budget, which reflects the tough reality many local governments are finding themselves in. Inflation, global economic uncertainty, and slower growth mean we're heavily focused on maintaining our current assets and services, holding the line on new projects, positions, and initiatives, and facing significant pressure to secure additional revenue just to keep pace with rising operational costs.”

Budget Highlights 

• Increases the property tax rate from $0.325 to $0.34 per $100 valuation – the lowest in Wake County and about $97 more a year for the median Cary home valued at $648,000
• Increases the solid waste fee by $3 to $26 per month to recover the full, actual cost for the service
• Increases water/sewer rates by 4%, which is about $2.96 more a month for a family of four
• Limits new spending to core initiatives such as $8.9 million for street maintenance, $5.8 million for public safety technology, and $2.4 million for traffic signal technology 
• Drops the average employee potential merit pay increase from 5% to 3%
• And for the second consecutive year holds the number of employee positions to 1328, or about 7 employees per 1,000 residents –one of the lowest staff-to-citizen ratios for a full-service city of Cary’s size across the nation

“The budget we adopted was based on Town staff having dug deep to trim more than $25 million in funding for various programs and services,” said Weinbrecht. “The Council and I are grateful for their work. We hire, promote, and retain the best-of-the-best in my opinion, and they’re able to accomplish extraordinary things for our community.” 

Capital Projects Review 

As a part of the budget process, the Cary Council comprehensively reviewed 391 existing capital projects in response to two key financial pressures: rising operating/construction costs and flattening revenue. This review reflected the challenging balance between maintaining important initiatives and ensuring long-term financial sustainability.

The review resulted in categorizing the 391 projects as follows:

• 198 projects were determined to be complete with no work outstanding
• 125 projects were under construction and continue moving forward
• 68 projects were paused and placed in a “Reassess” category

“Reassess” projects are worthy initiatives that, because of rapidly escalating costs, can no longer be completed within the project’s available funding. These 68 projects have had the remaining funding removed, but the project information and work thus far will be retained for potential future reassessment as changing conditions warrant.

“This is not a short-term, one year budget situation. Outside forces have placed communities throughout the nation in a historic period when it comes to the sky-high costs of construction projects, with things like sidewalks costing 200 percent more than just a few years ago. We can no longer afford to do all that we wanted and planned for - all that our citizens wanted and hoped for,” Weinbrecht said. “Still, I’m optimistic about Cary’s future, and I look forward to continuing to work with our citizens in determining the course for Cary’s tomorrow.”

Budget Process

The FY 2026 budget was developed as part of Cary’s rolling budget process, in which budget conversations happen between Council, staff, and citizens year-round. Citizens are invited to share their thoughts and priorities through:

Email: 311@carync.gov
Phone: Dial 311 or (919) 469-4000
Public Speaks Out at regular Council meetings
Social media: Find 311 @caryncgov to send a DM or post publicly using #CaryBudget
Text: text budget input to TXT311
The Adopted FY 26 Budget will be available online and in print this Fall. The Town Manager’s FY 2026 Recommended Budget, which differs slightly from the actual adopted budget discussed in this news release, remains available for review at carync.gov/budget.

Primary Contacts

Sean Stegall, Town Manager, (919) 469-4002
Danna Widmar, Assistant Town Manager, (919) 460-4915
Liam Brailey, Budget Manager, (919) 462-3852

Resources

Cary’s Recommended Budget
Budget Process
Staff Ratio
Projects
Cary 311