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une’s Town Board Meeting focused on the removal of a large Pecan Tree in Lupton Park, the discussion of several State Bills that could impact Town and residents, and the continuation of the Public Hearing for the 2026-27 fiscal year budget.

Commissioners Paul Jordan, Lou Ostendorff, Dan McGuire, and Chris Moffat; Mayor Sally Belangia, Town Manager Diane Miller; Finance Officer Lisa Millington; Police Chief Bill Wichrowski. Commissioner Iris Cooper was absent.

Meeting Recap

• Motion approved to continue Public Hearing for the Budget until the end of the month, pending a vote from the State Assembly on property tax moratorium; a special budget meeting is scheduled for June 26.
• Motion approved to remove the pecan tree in Lupton Park
• Motion approved to close 910-912 Midyette Drive July 18 from 2p to 11p for a family reunion
• Waiting for confirmation from the Fire Marshall on Oriental Bridge closing on July 4 from 3p to 11p • Town Hall will be closed July 1 and 3.

Public Comments

Several residents spoke on the removal of an old, large pecan tree in Lupton Park.

David White, a former Commissioner, referenced a letter written regarding the removal of the tree in Lupton Park. He said “the tree has to come down. Once the town has been notified about the damage, it must act.” He said once it became known, it became a financial liability to the town.

White also thanked the Town Board, Mayor, Town Manager and staff for an outstanding, transparent budget process.

Vicki Rasmussen Rasmussen said the process for tree removal had not been transparent and the Tree Board’s recommendation for removal identifies risk but offers remediation options that were being ignored. “Trees are part of the park’s character. There is no quick replacement. The Parks & Recreation board voted to save the pecan tree and that should matter. The current process for tree removal is not transparent. The public deserves to know who made the decision and what alternatives were considered. ‘Because I said so’ is not a process.”

She said, “No one is asking for safety to be ignored, no one is asking to put the town at risk. Follow the evidence and consider mitigation options — prove removal is the only option. We are a Tree City and we should act like it.”

Butch Rasmussen said “I was hoping to see an email I regret removed from the meeting document. Unfortunately, it was not. It does not represent an accurate picture of the facts.” He said the decision for tree removal was based on false evidence, and that only a certified arborist should decide and that all other opinions were misleading.

Dr. Bob Miller, former chair of the Oriental Tree Board, and the person who recommended the removal of the tree, addressed the comments that only a certified arborist should decide whether a tree should come down, saying, “ I never took the exam, because I was part of the group that wrote it, and I think it’d be kind of cheeky to take my own test.”

Warren expanded on his credentials, sharing that he had been an expert witness in 27 lawsuits, including three where someone was killed by a falling limb. He said he was currently involved in a trial where a two-year-old crushed by a fallen limb was left a quadriplegic.

“I love trees, but they can do some bad things.” Warren said he has also spent over two decades planting trees with the Tree Board in order to prepare for losing veteran trees. “We have a lot of trees of pretty good size to provide shade when this tree is cut down.”

Stephanie Carperos of Blackwell Point requested that the all-way stop sign located at the intersection of Midyette and North Street be removed, stating that according to the NC DOT reference to the Federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, it does not meet the conditions supporting an all-way stop. Stop signs were installed in March of 2025 even though no safety study had been conducted.

Carol Small spoke well of the recent Cycle NC event, but that she heard “a lot of complaints about the impact” on Oriental residents.
Small said Little Washington, where the event also takes place, has designated parking lots and charges for trash and park rental, camping, and port-a-potties. They do not offer water or electricity. “It is my understanding that we provide all these services and do not ask for money back.” She noted that NC Cycle charges participants $300 to participate.

During the Manager’s Report, Town Manager Diane Miller responded to the Cycle NC expenses mentioned by Small, noting the fund was up $7k. “ That is the impact for us on Cycle NC. That’s a huge difference.” She noted they used “like a hundred and fifty dollars in water.” The event also pays for the portable toilets and the trash pickup.

“The expense to us is literally staff time, taking the barriers out there and the barricades,” she said. “It’s not really a big cost to us. And I know I’ve heard mixed [reviews] also. Businesses love it. Residents absolutely hate it.”

Public Hearing on Budget Continued until June 26

Manager Miller explained Oriental had three possible budgets: a budget using this year’s numbers, one using last year’s numbers, or an interim budget based off the General Fund.

Oriental is waiting for a decision on State Bill 474 adding the County to a SB 889, a property tax moratorium, to either pass or fail before adopting a budget. Once adopted, the proposed tax rate is locked in and legally cannot be changed. An interim budget that only funds the needs of the government can be used until the tax rates are decided.

Miller said Oriental used the latest property tax assessment done in 2025 to determine the proposed millage change to 16 cents from 22 cents (per hundred dollars). Now that SB 889 is law, Oriental would need to either raise the millage rate or only be able to fund about 70% of planned spending in fiscal year 2026-27 if Pamlico County is included in the moratorium as required by SB 474, if SB 474 passes into law.

“If you approve the budget using the latest table of values assessed at $435 million with a millage of 16 cents and SB 889 becomes law, we have to live with the bad numbers,” she explained. “We cannot change it.”

The re-evaluated assessment using the previous table of values reduces the figure to $400 million and will require a new budget or different millage.

Mayor Belangia thanked Manager Miller “for trying to figure out what in the world is going on with the budget.”

Commissioner Jordan echoed the sentiment. “Diane taught us everything that could go wrong — has.”

Miller said other municipalities were moving their budget decisions out to June 28 or 29.

The board approved a continuation of the Budget Public Meeting until June 26. Municipalities including Oriental need to approve a budget by July 1.

Updates on North Carolina State Assembly House Bills that may affect residents

Manager Miller provided updates on several bills that could have a significant effect on Oriental residents.

Senate Bill 1080
A proposed amendment to the North Carolina constitution will appear on November’s ballot. The amendment caps personal and corporate income tax at 3.5%. Currently the corporate level is a flat 2% and is set to drop to zero by 2030. The current personal rate ranges from to 3.99% to 7.75%. And amendment to the constitution would make it permanent and provide little money for the state to fund infrastructure. Taxes would have to be raised through other means, such as property taxes.

House Bill 1089
Another proposed amendment to the constitution, that will also appear on the November ballot, would amend the state constitution to cap property tax increases at 10%. The current statute limits property tax to $1.50 per $100 of value. Manager Miller noted that there is no reference to frequency in the bill — how often an increase could be enacted. “ Currently, state law says no more than every eight years, but you can do it less,” she explained. “This one that we’re doing now is six years since the previous revaluation. I would bet the General Assembly will change that to a lower [number], so that they’ll do ten percent every two years. Two years from whatever. But I would bet that that’s on the horizon.”

Senate Bill 474
Adds Pamlico County to the list of counties covered in Bill 889 (a moratorium on the new property values used for tax assessments). It
has gone to committee, and if it passes, will go to the Governor for a signature. This Bill is the reason the Budget Hearing was continued.

Senate Bill 889
Requires some counties to postpone using the latest property table of values to determine tax assessments for 2026 budgets, and requests counties use the previous table of property values for the fiscal budget beginning on July 1, 2026. The moratorium would last until January 1, 2027. Pamlico and two other counties, with populations under 15,000, were struck from the original Bill.

Property owners have been appealing their assessed value increases, which skyrocketed — in some cases over 100%.

Traffic Ordinance Modified to Limit Parking

Motion approved to change Traffic Ordinance adding parking restrictions on Church Street and around Lupton Park as proposed at the May town Board Meeting. Church Street will have parking on one side of the road, closest to the town hall and Schoolhouse Condos.

Parking around Lupton Park will be restricted across from driveways. Signs have been ordered.

Motion Approved to Remove Tree in Lupton Park

The Town Board responded to comments from residents and concerns that the Tree Board recommendation to attempt management was being ignored.

Town Manager Miller said, “The attorney said we have to do mitigation or removal. We no longer have the option to do nothing. We do not have $12 million in liability insurance. We only have $2 million in insurance. We have 2,000 trees. Is it reasonable to use twice their annual budget for one tree? If we choose mitigation, we would have to revisit it every year.” The town would also be liable if anyone were injured by the tree.

Parks and Recreation Board liaison Commissioner Don McGuire said, “Did any of you go out and look at the tree? I did. I looked at the tree and it looked good from afar, even though there are wounds in the trunk where branches have been cut off. But then I stuck my hand in one of the tree wounds and three-quarters of my hand went into the tree.

“The Parks and Recreation board wanted to try and save it, but that tree is right in the middle of the playground. I have to believe grandparents would be reluctant to let their grandkids play under an unwell tree. It looks ill. If Bob [Dr. Miller] says the tree has got to go — it has got to go. I do not know that we need someone from South Carolina to look at the tree. We love all the trees. I am in favor of removal.”

Commissioner Chris Moffat agreed. “I will admit I am not a certified arborist. But I have read the report and I have done some homework. I am the liaison to the Tree Board. These people love trees. It’s nauseating. They talk about these trees, they name them all — know how long it has been since they planted them. So to think that there is some nefarious reason this tree has been targeted bothers me.

“The failure mode identified in the report has three pillars: wind load, saturated soil, and a moderately-high to high occupancy rating around the tree. As much as I respect the work of Parks and Rec, we have a fiduciary responsibility. We would be negligent of the public trust if we passed the responsibility [of the tree] to the Parks & Recreation Board. The tree should come down this week.”

Commissioner Ostendorff added, “ it’s all been transparent. We delayed removing that tree last week because of other discussions and information that had been available to us. So we are not a board of non-transparent people thinking about things, especially this tree issue. And if we vote to take the tree down, the tree has gotta come down.”

“I think it is wonderful how emotional we are about trees,” said Commissioner Jordan. “I agree with all the comments from the other commissioners. We have no choice as a board — if we ignore the liability and someone gets hurt, we have been made aware of a risk, a very real risk. I do not want to cut a tree down. We have to be realistic about the risk involved. If I told you about a moderately to high risk of storm surge at your house, would you take action? I think you would.”

The Board voted unanimously that the pecan tree in Lupton Park would come down.

Manager’s Report

• Midyette Street between 910 and 912 closed on July 18 for the Bryant family reunion from 2p to 11p
• Waiting on the Fire Marshall to approve Oriental Bridge closure on July 4. The Fire Marshall has to oversee the fireworks from 3p to 11p
• Town Hall is hoping to schedule a “Hurricane Awareness” session early in July
• Postal rates have increased from 78 to 82 cents — another reason to switch to electronic billing for water bills
• 108% of the budgeted property tax has been collected
• 79% of the sales tax has been collected but more is coming (State payout is always two months behind)
• A bill before the state assembly would eliminate the ability of municipalities to limit the height of buildings along the water. Oriental has a building height limit of 35 feet. This would allow condos to be built along the waterfront.
• Holiday schedules: if the holiday falls on a Saturday, the holiday will be observed on the Friday before; if it falls on a Sunday, the holiday will be observed on the following Monday.
• Town Hall will be closed on July 1 and July 3. Anyone who needs help with the Croaker Festival needs to get it before July 3.
• FEMA has urged municipalities to have a heat plan. If the heat index is over 110 degrees, working outside is not advised.

Police Report

Chief Wichrowski gave the report. He was enrolled in a North Carolina Law Enforcement Assistance Program (NCLEASP) accreditation effort offered by the state that assigns tasks to implement best practices in policies and procedures. The Chief said Oriental’s police policies were written in the 1990s and have not been updated since.

“It is an effort by the State to ensure that small communities have policy and procedural programs and guidelines that meet the minimal standards required. It is a mentorship program. For instance, we do not have guidelines for evidence. By going through this, we will at least have the minimum.”

Miller explained, “any policies have to go through the [Town] Board. However, if there is something that is security sensitive that should not be made available to the public, we can do that in a closed session. But general policy has to go through the board.”

Wichrowksi agreed, “We should be able to post it on town website for everyone to see.”

Commissioner Comments

Commissioners thanked Town Manager Miller for her work getting through the budgets and dealing with last-minute changes in State legislation.

Dates to Know

The next Town Board Meeting will be Tuesday, July 14 at 6p. Town Hall will be Closed July 3.

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Story by Laurie Stahlmann

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Related Information

• School of Government Guidance SB 889
• June Meeting Agenda
• Proposed Budget
• Consent Agenda
• Auxiliary Board Reports
• Audit Contract
• Candidates for Board Appointments
• Traffic Ordinance Revision
• Manager’s Report
• Budget Amendment
• Police Report
• Tree Information
• Water Fund
• Admin Final
• General Fund Expenses (Updated)
• General Fund Revenues (Updated)

Posted Monday June 15, 2026 by Allison DeWeese