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Cary, North Carolina · Town of Cary NC FY2026 Adopted Budget

Cary — the money trail

$510,912,388
The Town of Cary, North Carolina — the state’s 7th-largest municipality (a “town” by name only), in Wake County. This is the adopted all-funds budget for FY2026, $510.9 million, from the town’s GFOA-award-winning budget book. The General Fund ($290.4M) is shown by function; the utility and capital funds follow. Every figure ties to the budget book’s summary schedules and foots to the dollar. Click any number to see exactly where it comes from. Where the trail goes dark, it becomes a numbered issue in the docket. New here? Read our story or take the plain-words tour.
Cross-foots ✓ 8/8
The real money is in your city or town. With no county government here, the budgets that shape daily life — schools, police, roads, trash — are municipal. Browse every city and town →, and walk the ones we've ingested line by line.
Now you've seen it — say what matters. You don't write the budget; the people you elected do. But this is the record they answer to. Tell them what to lean into, or what to take a fresh look at, and why. Set the priorities.
✓ Sourced○ Cited◐ Partial⚠ Ambiguous✖ Dead end
✓ Sourced = cited to a document and the math re-adds to the dollar. ○ Cited = cited to a document, but the math isn't independently double-checked yet. Hover any mark for what it means.

Where it goes — $510,912,388 appropriated

▶General Fund$290,431,38557%✓ Sourced
The town’s main operating fund — police, fire, public works, and parks.
▶Public Safety (Police & Fire)$79,367,28527% of fund✓ Sourced
▶General Government$72,078,69125% of fund✓ Sourced
▶Other (debt service & transfers)$45,654,469✓ Sourced
▶Public Works$43,332,150✓ Sourced
▶Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources$29,485,326✓ Sourced
▶Development$12,786,463✓ Sourced
▶Infrastructure$7,727,001✓ Sourced
▶Utility Fund (water & sewer)$96,886,75219%✓ Sourced
The town’s water and sewer utility.
▶GoCary Transit Fund$13,233,8543%✓ Sourced
Town bus service.
▶CAMPO Fund$10,867,0732%✓ Sourced
The regional transportation planning organization Cary hosts.
▶Health & Dental Fund$5,837,1421%✓ Sourced
Employee health & dental self-insurance.
▶CDBG Fund$1,795,827✓ Sourced
Federal community-development block grants.
▶Emergency Telephone (911) Fund$637,944✓ Sourced
911 system.
▶Parking Fund$564,000✓ Sourced
Downtown parking.
▶General Capital Improvements$54,610,90111%✓ Sourced
Roads, parks, and building projects.
▶Utility Capital Improvements$36,047,5107%✓ Sourced
Water & sewer capital projects.