Review: Rocky Mount spent millions over budget, residents facing higher costs as result

Those who live in Rocky Mount are looking at increased utility bills after a serious financial crisis was uncovered in a recent review of the budget.

The city was found to have spent millions more than it brought in on a monthly basis for more than two years.

For residents, this will mean a bump in natural gas and electricity rates. Estimates put the increase at about $20 monthly for natural gas for the typical household. An approximate $8 monthly increase for electricity is expected, according to a release from the city.

“I know this is tough—my heart’s heavy too—but I believe in this community,” Rocky Mount Mayor Sandy Roberson said. “We’ll get through this together and come out stronger.”

The city "spent millions more each month than it received," according to a review by City Manager Elton Daniels. 

In response to Daniels' findings, the city said it will reduce spending by at least $30 million over the next 10 months. The move includes freezing non-essential projects, pausing capital initiatives and reducing staff, with at least 10% of full-time employees and half of part-time staff facing layoffs.

“These findings are troubling, and the city is hiring an independent forensic accounting firm to further investigate,” Daniels said. “We will share those results publicly when we can.”

Former City Manager Keith Rodgers Jr. resigned in August 2024 after taking the job in March 2023. His resignation came after the city council voted to place Rodgers on administrative leave. The city said some council members became suspicious in 2023 over city management. 

In an interview with WRAL on Tuesday, Roberson offered an apology to residents for having to pay for the city's mistake.

"For those who believe they are having to pay the bulk of this, what I will say is that we are trying to share that risk as much as we can and as we are trying to be as financially conservative and forthright as we can to make up the difference," Roberson said.

WRAL reached out to all seven Rocky Mount City Councilmembers. Only T.J. Walker got back with us. 

Walker has been a councilmember since 2019. He said he was caught off guard by the financial trouble. 

"There were no red flags to me. I never had any issues with the budget that was presented," he said. 

WRAL reviewed years of financial audits that Rocky Mount reported to the state. The public audits, put together by the city's finance office, show Rocky Mount's outstanding debt grew by 37% between 2021 and 2024.

"I take a level of responsibility, but I understand the budget is one of the one of the two priorities that we have as councilmembers. All I can do is basically look at the information that's given to us, and that information is not information that I have access to," Walker said. 

Roberson and Walker agreed that the problems may have stemmed from a revolving door of city managers and the departure of a long-time finance director. 

"If you look at the timelines, as we've looked at the timelines and studied [them], the biggest erosion period really came during our previous city manager's tenure," Roberson said. 

WRAL News asked Walker if he believes it was a poor  decision to hire the former city manager, Keith Rodgers.

"I don't think it was a poor decision. In government, when you are an administrator, a lot of the things you inherit, they have nothing to do with your administration," he said. 

An accounting firm is expected to comb through records to get a more comprehensive idea of the irregularities in the budget. The city said it will share those findings.