Wake County: Commissioners remove Wendell from fire tax district, approve women's shelter site

Wake County commissioners voted to take the Town of Wendell out of the county Fire Tax District and, on a 5-2 vote, to buy a Raleigh property for a women's shelter.

The votes were at the board's regular meeting on Monday, Oct. 5. The county posted the meeting highlights on Tuesday, Oct. 13. The agenda and a full meeting video are on the county's site.

Wendell and the Fire Tax District

The board first held a public hearing, then abolished the existing Fire Tax District. After a second hearing, it voted to set the district back up the same way, except without Wendell. The change takes effect June 30, 2027.

Wake County created the district by resolution in 1998 to fund fire protection in unincorporated areas. Wendell asked to be included then and has been the only town in the district, the county said.

Wendell asked to leave. The Wendell Town Council voted unanimously on Sept. 14 to request removal. The Wake County Fire Commission had unanimously approved the change process on Sept. 10.

The county said the not-for-profit Wendell fire department will move under town government, and that firefighters would get better benefits. Wendell Town Manager Marc Collins and Wendell Falls Rural Fire Department Chief Brian Staples spoke at the first hearing in support, the highlights said.

Several county departments spent two years preparing for the switch, the county said. Staff told the board the revenue change will not cause hardship for the remaining district or unplanned tax increases.

North Carolina law makes this kind of change complicated, the County Attorney's Office said. That is why the board had to abolish the old district and then create it again without Wendell, each step after a public hearing.

The highlights do not say how each commissioner voted on those two actions.

Bramer Drive shelter site

Separately, the board voted 5-2 to buy a $4.1 million property on Bramer Drive in Raleigh and convey it to the Women's Center of Wake County.

The Housing Department said the Women's Center would use it as a non-congregate women's shelter, with up to 20 private-room units and space for day services. If the conveyance goes through, the Women's Center would own the building and pay to renovate and run it.

The deal depends on a special use permit from the City of Raleigh. The purchase money would come from $5 million the county set aside in the Housing capital budget in fiscal year 2024.

The county is already contracting with the Women's Center to run an emergency drop-in shelter at the same Bramer Drive property while the county renovates its drop-in shelter on Second Street in Raleigh. Those drop-in operations are expected to return to Second Street in late November or early December 2026, the highlights said. The Women's Center now leases the Bramer Drive building from the owner.

A 2023 county study found Wake needed nine to 27 more non-congregate shelter beds, the highlights said. Non-congregate shelter gives households and people who need more privacy their own space, the county said.

The highlights do not name the commissioners who voted no.

Property revaluation hearing

The board also held a public hearing on the proposed 2027 schedule of values, the rules county appraisers use to set market value. Two residents spoke.

Notices of new assessed values are set to start arriving Jan. 22, 2027. The planned deadline to appeal to the Board of Review is April 30, 2027. Staff are scheduled to present 2027 revaluation results to the commissioners on Jan. 19, 2027.

Revaluation changes the assessed value of land and buildings. Tax bills still depend on the tax rates the county and towns set later, the county said.

Next meeting

The board meets again at 2 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19, in the Board Chambers at the Wake County Justice Center. The county said the agenda would be posted by Friday, Oct. 16.