Daniels Highlights Teamwork in Taking On Leadership Role
Rocky Mount City Manager Elton Daniels has made quite a visible change as to what one is going to see when entering the City Council chamber for regular meetings.
Starting at the April 28 regular meeting, the front row of the audience seating section was reserved for the city’s department heads and other key city officials.
“Those of you that know me know that I’m all about teamwork,” Daniels said shortly after the beginning of the meeting. “And if you notice, I asked my team to be here up front today — and that’s where you’ll see them from here on moving out.”
Daniels stressed that the gesture was symbolic of the teamwork he wants to foster.
“In order for the city to reach its full potential, it will require an all-hands-on-deck approach,” Daniels said.
Daniels, who had been an assistant city manager since autumn 2019, was elevated to the city’s top day-to-day executive position at the April 14 council regular meeting by a unanimous vote.
During the April 28 meeting, Daniels took the opportunity to thank the city’s elected leaders, family, friends, colleagues and peers for supporting him in his career.
The council meeting lasted about 20 minutes and only one person spoke during the public input phase.
Blogger and videographer Curmilus Dancy II, among his remarks, offered his congratulations to Daniels as the new city manager.
“He should have been placed in that role long before now, but I always say that things happen in the right time,” Dancy said. “So, thank you for accepting that role.”
Dancy also told Daniels, “I see what you’re doing. I appreciate that.”
One item Daniels and the City Council will be working on is the proposed municipal operating budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year, which begins July 1.
The council voted Monday to set three dates for council work sessions to review the proposed financial document.
Assistant to the City Manager for Budget and Evaluation Kenneth Hunter, in a memorandum to Daniels as part of Monday’s meeting, submitted a schedule regarding the proposed budget.
The schedule calls for Daniels to distribute the proposed budget to Mayor Sandy Roberson and the council by May 16.
The schedule calls for the first council work session about the proposed budget to be set for 5 p.m. May 28.
That will be followed at 7 p.m. May 29 by a virtual town hall about the proposed budget for residents. City budget office staff will play host at the virtual town hall.
The next two budget work sessions about the proposed budget are scheduled for early next month.
One is going to be at 5 p.m. June 2, and the other is going to be at 5 p.m. June 4.
The public will have a chance to provide opinions on the proposed budget, with a public comment period to coincide with the council’s regular meeting at 7 p.m. June 9.
The plan is for the council to adopt the proposed budget at the 4 p.m. June 23 regular council meeting.
During the city’s annual retreat, held in March in downtown Wilmington, Hunter said that the city of Rocky Mount’s proposed budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year is not going to impose an increase in the property tax rate.
Additionally, Hunter made clear that he and his team are not going to recommend any increases in full-time staffing.
State law requires municipal governments to have balanced budgets in place by the start of a coming fiscal year, which is July 1.
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