Like other commentaries and letters to the editor, opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of WHQR. We reserve the right to decline to publish opinions, or publish them with contrasting views or additional context.
The City of Wilmington is currently considering a significant tax increase — upward of 20% — recommended by City Manager Becky Hawke, who aims to support a "living wage" for lower-paid employees, but also improve compensation for all city employees, as well as invest in capital projects. The city budget is still a work in progress, and on Friday, councilmembers and staff spent all day workshopping details. A vote is slated for Tuesday.
The proposed budget prompted a critical opinion piece from former councilmember Luke Waddell, who lost his 2025 re-election bid, published in the Greater Wilmington Business Journal: 'Seeing Red': A Case For Fiscal Restraint, Principled Leadership In Wilmington
Current Mayor Pro-tem Kevin Spears authored a response, which also appeared in the Journal: Context Matters In Wilmington’s Budget Debate
This past week, WHQR invited council members to join us in the studio to share their thoughts on the budget. Councilmember Cassidy Santaguida was among those who agreed to discuss the process, and offered the following opinion piece after her interview.
My first six months on the Wilmington City Council have been an education: meeting with constituents, attending community events, joining boards and committees, and learning from the city staff and employees who serve our needs. I ran for office to make good things happen in Wilmington, and the first step was to listen and to understand the problems.
Some of the city’s largest, and most immediate, challenges surfaced at the budget work session in November of last year. At that meeting council members were faced with a painful truth. The city is facing a high employee turnover rate, deferred safety equipment purchases, and delayed completion of capital projects. It was clear to me from that first budget session that inaction on these issues will result in the city struggling to fulfill its mission, and resolving these challenges is going to take a multi-faceted approach.
Do More With Less
An important step forward was taken in March. The city’s staff reorganization ensures the city is positioned to improve service delivery and maximize efficiency. The reorganization effort resulted in the reduction of 29 full-time positions from the FY27 budget while ensuring that no employee lost their job.
With the new organizational structure in place, it’s now time to recognize and accept the next steps we must take: implement a living wage, fund deferred safety equipment, and complete long-promised capital improvement projects.
Public Safety to Potholes
The City Manager’s proposed living wage implementation aligns well with my philosophy that service is at the core of a responsible government. Service delivery cannot happen without city employees. While the FY27 proposed budget truly is a “Public Safety Budget,” it also includes salary adjustments for employees in other departments. Public safety employees respond to urgent calls at all hours to save lives, and would receive an enormous portion of the proposed living wage increase. But it’s important to remember that other departments provide services that are just as core to the city’s mission.
Think potholes — a hazard on our roads and to your car, regardless of the politics on your bumper stickers. Filling potholes is a prime example of the essential, hyperlocal service provided by municipal government. I recently met the team responsible for filling potholes on the approximately 400 miles of city roads. This fiscal year they’re on pace to fill 7400 potholes, compared to last year’s 6877.
Right now, in Wilmington, we have a pothole team of one. There are two positions budgeted, but one has been vacant since 2025. The implementation of a living wage philosophy facilitates two things: first, it will help retain the current employee, and, second, it will accelerate filling the vacancy and bringing a second employee onto the team to provide the level of service you deserve. Potholes are just one example; we need a salary strategy across the board that addresses all the essential functions that residents depend on every day.
Promises Made, Promises Kept
The city also has to keep our promises. The FY27 budget recommends a small rate increase to fund debt service to complete numerous projects that have long been promised, including the CFCC Bulkhead Repair, Water Street Park, Pine Grove Bridge replacement, Wrightsville Ave sidewalks, and numerous trail projects. Capital costs continue to skyrocket and further delays will only increase costs. We need to see these projects to completion.
Balancing Act
I didn’t run for office to talk about the problems; I ran to take action and find solutions. Part of that means accepting hard truths and acting in the best interest of everyone in our city. The proposed tax increase will cost the median homeowner $21 a month, and I can’t think of a better return on a $21 monthly investment than improvements to public safety and infrastructure, trees and transportation, planning and parks.
That said, we need to do everything we can to minimize the strain on households already struggling with rising grocery, fuel, and utility costs. We’ll continue to look for reductions in the proposed tax increase — we can make some adjustments to how the living wage is implemented, lengthen replacement cycles for hardware, and look to the general fund for one-time purchases of critical safety equipment. The hard truth is that a property tax increase is needed to fulfill the city’s mission.
Almost six months ago, at my swearing-in, I said, “I can’t promise that we’ll always agree on everything, but I can promise that I will put what’s best for our city and everyone in it at the center of every decision I make.” I don’t yet know exactly where the FY27 budget will land, but I do know that whatever vote I take will be in support of the promise I made.