Executive orders from Gov. Roy Cooper concerning the COVID-19 pandemic are creating financial problems for towns. | Facebook
Executive orders from Gov. Roy Cooper concerning the COVID-19 pandemic are creating financial problems for towns. | Facebook
Elizabeth City is paying the price for a tax relief that Gov. Roy Cooper issued, which could cause the city to become broke within the next month, Carolina Journal reported.
“It’s a rainy day in Elizabeth City, what can I say,” City Manager Richard Olson told Carolina Journal for its June 22 report. “We’ll be broke. That’s the only way of saying it.”
Many other cities and counties in North Carolina are facing similar situations due to executive orders from Cooper preventing utility companies from making those struggling from COVID-19 impacts to pay their bills.
Elizabeth City leaders said approximately 30% of its residents are not paying utility bills, which has created a financial problem for the city. North Carolina did approve a payment plan city officials submitted because of the circumstances.
Half of the residents in Liberty aren't paying utility bills, Liberty Town Manager William Doefer told the Carolina Journal, adding that the city is owed approximately $90,000 related to those back payments that may never materialize.
“We’re between a rock and a hard place with this executive order,” Doerfer told Carolina Journal. “We’ve got some money in the bank, but I don’t know how long that will last.”
City managers in the state are worried that residents won't be able to pull themselves out of utility debt from the pandemic.
“The great unknown is will customers be able to pay? That’s our biggest fear as this drags on,” Clayton Town Manager Adam Lindsay told Carolina Journal. “If you’re talking about four or five months, that’s a much harder bill to make up.”
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