Top leaders in North Carolina say the City of Rocky Mount has made “good progress” climbing out of its well documented financial struggles, even as the city’s financial challenges continue to be monitored by the state.
This week, Rocky Mount officials acknowledged its recent placement on the Local Government Commission’s Unit Assistance List (UAL), based on recent audited financial statements.
North Carolina State Treasurer Brad Briner, on a recent podcast hosted by North Carolina State Auditor Dave Boliek, said the city is on a “decent track now.”
“We are watching closely. They have made good progress. They are– unfortunately– have successors in finding themselves in the doghouse,” Briner said.
The episode, which covered a wide range of other financial state topics, discussed the Local Government Commission’s (LGC) role in helping municipalities become more financially stable.
This month, the State Treasurer’s office announced the LGC would be taking a “more consistent approach” to identifying local governments that may need additional financial oversight.
“The City takes this designation seriously and recognizes the financial challenges identified in the audit. Over the past year, City Council and staff have taken significant and sometimes difficult steps to strengthen financial controls, improve oversight, manage expenditures, and improve the City’s overall financial position,” reads a statement from the city on its UAL placement.
The localities of Cary, Greensboro, Rocky Mount and Zebulon were among the “larger local governments” placed on the UAL.
According to the State Treasurer’s office:
Rocky Mount’s financial challenges prompted increased LGC scrutiny and demonstrated that even larger local governments may need earlier state intervention and assistance. The City remains under enhanced monitoring as LGC staff work with local officials to address identified financial and operational concerns.
“They [city council] knew the decisions that they needed to make. Not going to be popular about laying off staff or increasing service fees or taxes, but the decisions were obvious, and so we [LGC] eventually got them to the right place,” Briner said.
Briner’s appearance on Boliek’s “Let’s Add it Up” podcast comes several months after the State Auditor’s Office found the former City Manager of Rocky Mount operated “unchecked” and went “unaccountable for years.” It resulted in millions of dollars overspent for the city creating significant financial distress, according to the audit.
This year, Rocky Mount increased utility rates by 15% as part of its plan to dig itself out of financial distress, a decision largely scrutinized by city residents after three people died this summer after their power was disconnected for failure to pay in full by the city.
“There are two basic problems we run into in municipal governments. One is just mismanagement, right? Sometimes it’s fraud, but more often than not, it’s mismanagement,” Briner added.
Boliek noted that as the 21st largest municipality in the state of North Carolina, the two agencies “cannot” let Rocky Mount fail in their financial recovery efforts.
