Graham council approves fee hikes, cuts park design funding in budget debate

Graham council members approved higher fees for lake rentals, garbage and recycling, then stripped $2.3 million from park design funding as Mayor Chelsea Dickey pressed for a clearer accounting of the city’s 2026-27 spending plan.

The sharpest immediate hit will fall on households and utility customers. Graham’s proposed garbage and recycling charge would rise $2 a month, from $14.50 to $16.50 per rolling can, while water and sewer rates would climb 6%. Fees for boat, kayak and canoe rentals at Graham-Mebane Lake are also going up, a change council members said should better match the actual cost of providing the service. Dickey warned that the increases could land hardest on lower-income residents and small businesses.

The debate also exposed a deeper fight over how Graham is assembling its budget behind the scenes. City Manager Megan Garner said it would be unlawful to give non-sworn employees the same 17.1% retirement contribution that police officers and firefighters receive, answering one of Dickey’s requests for more detail. Garner’s proposed $44 million budget would raise the property tax rate by 3 cents, to 0.3399 per $100 of valuation, and increase overall spending by $8.2 million, or 22.9%, from the current year.

Council members also cut $2.3 million that had been set aside for design work on the first phase of Graham Regional Park, over Dickey’s objection. Garner said that change would not alter the proposed tax-rate increase, but it underscored how unsettled the city’s long-range capital plan remains. In February, council members had already agreed to a five-year package worth just under $22 million, including a $6 million fire substation in southern Graham, a $1 million fire truck, $4.1 million for park design, $3.75 million for street resurfacing and a jump in annual capital-improvement funding from $1.4 million to $7.1 million.

The budget discussion comes after Graham’s 2025-26 budget, adopted June 12, 2025, added a 2-cent tax increase, five new employees and a 3% cost-of-living adjustment, the first property-tax hike since revaluation in 2023. Garner’s latest proposal also includes a $3.1 million transfer from a non-departmental general-fund account into a capital reserve fund and another 6% increase in utility rates.

The council had already heard from several groups seeking city support. LINK Transit asked for a $20,000 to $25,000 local match tied to federal money for bus service serving five Graham stops, Alamance Arts raised a request tied to its 70th anniversary, and United Way sought $12,000 for a seasonal site coordinator to help support free tax-preparation services. With the council scheduled to vote June 9, the fight over fees and park money is now shaping Graham’s broader choices on taxes, public services and which projects move first.