Town Manager Cliff Ogburn will present his recommended fiscal year 2025-26 Town of Southern Shores budget to the Town Council at its regular meeting Tuesday, May 6, after which the budget will be available on the Town website for the public to view.
Tuesday’s meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. in the Pitts Center.
The Town Council will schedule a public hearing on the budget in June before it votes on its approval. The Council has until June 30 to finalize the budget, which starts on July 1, 2025.
You may access the agenda and meeting packet here:
Meeting packet: https://mccmeetings.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/soshoresnc-pubu/MEET-Packet-0d6ecc16410f4d4cb2a577821613968f.pdf.
You may live-steam the meeting at the Southern Shores You Tube website.
Mr. Ogburn also will give status reports Tuesday on the construction of the Trinite Trail Bridge replacement, which previously has been projected to conclude by the end of June or early July, at the latest, and on the Town’s acquisition of the Southern Shores Volunteer Fire Dept.
For background on the FY 2025-26 budget and on the transition of the SSVFD to a department of the Town of Southern Shores, see The Beacon, 4/10/25.
Another important item on the agenda is a discussion about House Bill 765 and similar legislation currently in the N.C. General Assembly that would limit the planning and zoning authority of municipalities.
The Town Council will consider, and undoubtedly approve unanimously, a resolution expressing its opposition to H.B. 765, which is designed to usurp local control of development regulations, and other similar bills.
H.B. 765 is an omnibus bill that is making its way through House committees. For a listing of its many proposed regulatory changes, see an analysis by the N.C. League of Municipalities included in the Town Council meeting packet at pages 58-62.
The Manager’s budget presentation is currently on the agenda after a public hearing on Zoning Text Amendment 25-02, which was submitted by Anthony S. Mina of 75 East Dogwood Trail. Mr. Mina has been engaged with the Town since the Planning Dept. denied his request to subdivide his property. He is responsible for savesouthernshores.com.
(We wrote about Mr. Mina’s situation last October when the Planning Board held a five-hour-plus hearing on a variance request submitted by Mr. Mina, and we decline comment now. Mr. Mina will appear at the ZTA hearing by Zoom because the Town Council has banned him from Town property for a year.)
We trust the Town Council will see the wisdom in reversing the order of this new business so that Mr. Ogburn’s discussion of his recommended budget will occur before the ZTA hearing.
The Planning Board voted unanimously at its April 21 meeting to recommend that the Town Council disapprove ZTA 25-02 after it spent nearly two hours in a hearing.
As we previously announced, we will not be covering this meeting, but we will review the budget in a subsequent blog post as soon as we can.
MAYOR’S CHAT SCHEDULED MAY 14, 5 P.M., IN PITTS CENTER
Mayor Elizabeth Morey will host an informal Mayor’s Chat on Wed., May 14, at 5 p.m., in the Pitts Center to discuss “anything Southern Shores,” according to the Town’s notice.
In our experience, other Town officials, including the Town Manager and Police Chief David Kole, attend these chats and respond to inquiries, as well.
With a new budget that is expected to rely upon an increase in the Town’s ad valorem tax rate to be balanced; a new municipal fire department to structure, staff, and fund; and the prospect of the State legislative overreach of H.B. 765 becoming law, there would seem to be much to talk about with Mayor Morey.
By The Southern Shores Beacon, May 3, 2025
The Southern Shores Beacon 
Why was Mina banned from town property?
And this is the same guy right? (link to email chain)
If so, his history of this type of behavior stretches back to a decade of similar conspiracy lawsuits in Pennsylvania.
Is there a way to get him and his family the medical help they might need so our town employees can get back to doing their jobs?
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Yes, Mike, this is the same person. Town officials are aware of Mr. Mina’s background. The Town Council held a public hearing earlier this year on the subject of banning Mr. Mina from Town property, because of threatening language he used in emails sent to Town officials, and unanimously voted to do so. The ban is in effect for a year. I refer you to Mr. Ogburn for further comment. Thank you.
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