The mayor of Rocky Mount confirmed on Thursday that the North Carolina State Auditor's Office is looking into the city as it faces a major financial crisis.

This comes after the state auditor told WRAL News that his team was in the city this week. In a statement only to WRAL News, Mayor Sandy Roberson said the city would let them “do their job.”

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The city announced this week that it is facing a financial crisis after a recent review of the budget uncovered that the city spent millions more than it brought in every month 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 a month for natural gas for the typical household. An approximate $8 monthly increase for electricity is expected, according to a release from the city.

Michael Jones lives in Rocky Mount and is upset about the entire situation.

"I'm barely scraping by as is, because all my money's going towards bills, and now I'll be paying more toward utilities?" he said.

In response to findings from City Manager Elton Daniels, the city said it will reduce spending by at least $30 million over the next 10 months. The move also 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.

The former state treasurer, Dale Folwell, said it's not the first time the city has found itself in financial trouble.

"There are serious issues, in my experience, that have been going on in Rocky Mount for a long period of time," he said.

WRAL reported in 2020 that Rocky Mount officials bent or broke rules to benefit other city officials, and local taxpayers didn’t know about it because of lax record-keeping.

"When it comes down to this, it's either incompetence or complicity," Folwell said.

The mayor says the city is working with the treasurer's office and welcomes the state auditors' team for its investigation.

Robeson said the city is working with the treasurer’s office and welcomes the state auditors’ team for its investigation. He also said in a statement that read in part, “… the goal is to get complete and thorough answers for our community."

He said the city's next steps will be decided after the state auditor's investigation wraps up.