Sanford City Council voted to approve utility mergers with Siler City and Chatham County at its Tuesday, November 5, 2024, meeting.
Sanford’s expansive infrastructure and access to resources have established it as the water service provider for the region – and a strategic partner for the communities in central North Carolina.
To provide for its current water needs and to prepare for the Chatham-Siler City Advanced Manufacturing (CAM) site and Wolfspeed, Siler City approved a utility merger with Sanford at its October 7, 2024, meeting. Chatham County followed suit at its meeting on November 4, 2024.
“After careful consideration, each of our boards have made a decision that puts our residents first and meets the current and future needs of our communities,” said Mayor Rebecca Salmon at the meeting.
A merged utility system offers multiple advantages for Sanford. “This decision diversifies our revenue, brings economies of scale, makes our system more resilient, and adds interconnectivity,” Salmon said. “A stronger utility system and the financial flexibility to leverage future funding is a benefit to all of our customers.”
As a term of the merger, Chatham County will share 20 percent of the net property tax revenue from industrial and commercial customers connected to the consolidated utility system. The agreement applies to 3,886 contiguous acres near Siler City that contain the CAM site and will stand for the next 50 years.
The utility assets from Siler City and Chatham County will transfer to Sanford on July 1, 2025. All infrastructure, meters, software, billing and accounts, customer service, and other systems will be integrated no later than that date.