Aldermen received the audit report and discussed various topics during a day-long retreat.
The New Bern Board of Aldermen held a retreat on Jan. 7, 2026, at the New Bern Area Chamber of Commerce on S0uth Front Street in New Bern, NC.
The New Bern aldermen received the preliminary audit report, talked about changing the city’s charter, the election cycle, land use ordinance; received information on electricity rates, riders and bills; discussed general obligation bond projects, Municipal Service District projects, street closures, parking issues, downtown bars, advisory boards, goals and objectives, taxes, the budget process, Choice Neighborhood Implementation Grant and the city’s match, Community Development Block Grant funds, Federal Emergency Management Act Funds, “ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) Enabled” funds and several other matters during the non-televised/non-livestreamed meeting that was held “away from city hall.”
The meeting began with a last-minute item being added to the agenda – a report from the auditing firm that noted a financial performance indicator of concern for the last fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2025. He said the indicator of concern was “related to the electric fund and cash flows being less than 16 percent which is a metric that the LGC (Local Government Commission) has developed to state that you would have enough cash on hand to meet two months’ worth of expenditures without having any cash flow issues.” He noted the indicator of concern wasn’t the same thing as financial statement or compliance findings. The LGC, acting as a governing body for North Carolina, has said they want units to be aware of the indicators, evaluate them, and if there are issues, develop a plan to address them so they’re not reoccurring.
Editor’s note: The same indicator of concern was found during the audit for fiscal year ending on June 30, 2024.
The meeting agenda can be found here.
The video was uploaded to the city’s YouTube channel on Jan. 9, 2025:
The aldermen will meet on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026 at 6 p.m. in the second-floor courtroom of City Hall, 300 Pollock St. in New Bern, NC, according to the city’s website. The meeting agenda and packet can be found here.
Most meeting videos are available City 3 TV, the city’s Facebook page and the city’s YouTube channel.
By Wendy Card, editor. Send an email with questions or comments.
Related article: Updated: Mayor says he would love meeting to be held ‘away from city hall’