(The Center Square) – Ronda and Rowland, small North Carolina communities in financial hardship, are being formally examined by the Local Government Commission to determine if rehabilitation or dissolution is the best step for residents.
Finances of the communities were taken over by the state in October by the agency statutorily charged to monitor the fiscal well-being – and approve most debt issued – of more than 1,100 local government units. Votes Tuesday by the commission put both towns into what the commission calls “the statutory process for evaluating financially unsustainable municipalities.”
Neither town is dissolved; neither town is deemed able to be financially rehabilitated, first-term Republican state Treasurer Brad Briner said. He’s chairman of the commission.
In a statement made available to The Center Square, Briner said in part, "People in Ronda and Rowland deserve local governments that can pay their bills, manage taxpayer dollars responsibly and provide the services residents depend on. Our priority is to protect taxpayers and maintain essential services while we determine whether these towns have a financially sustainable path forward. These are difficult decisions, but we owe residents a thorough and responsible review of every option."
Ronda is a foothills community of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Wilkes County with population less than 500. Rowland is a Coastal Plains community in the southeastern part of the state near South Carolina with population is just under 1,000.