Gray's Creek Facts · Public Handout · No. 01 For the Paradise Acres meeting · June 25, 2026

Gray's Creek Facts

Congrats, you showed up.

Before you sign the petition, ask the petitioners where the documents are.

A group of neighbors is asking 2,150 Gray's Creek residents to sign a petition to create a new municipal government by November 1, 2026. The proposed town has no published charter. No published feasibility study. No published boundary map. The financial pitch on the petitioners' Facebook page does not match the financial pitch on their website. We are residents and business owners inside the proposed boundary. We are not against local control. We are against signing a permanent commitment to a plan that does not yet exist on paper.

Charters published
by the petitioners

Conflicting budgets
in circulation

2,150

Signatures requested
by November 1, 2026

$3M

Discrepancy in claimed
sales-tax revenue

Where are the documents we're being asked to sign onto?

The petitioners' own Documents page lists every substantive planning document as "In Preparation." Charter: in preparation. Feasibility study: in preparation. Boundary map: in preparation. Startup guide: "coming soon." The submission deadline to the General Assembly is November 1, 2026, five months away.

From grayscreeknc.com/documents: "In Preparation" · "In Preparation" · "In Preparation" · "Coming Soon"

Which budget is the real one, Facebook or the website?

The organizing committee's Facebook post claims $17M revenue and $11M expenses. Grayscreeknc.com claims $13.97M revenue and $7.5M expenses. The Facebook version promises to "eliminate individual monthly trash bills." The website charges $325 per household per year for sanitation. Both can't be true.

Is the Village Center being prevented, or planned?

The petitioners' Village Center page calls the overlay district "a protective planning tool, not a development plan." The same page then describes building a "civic anchor": town hall, community meeting space, farmers market pavilion. That is a Village Center.

Has the Gray's Creek Fire Department endorsed this?

The plan claims it will give Gray's Creek Fire Stations 18 & 24 and Cotton Fire Department a "secure budget." No public endorsement from any fire department leadership has been produced. Has the department asked to be funded this way, or is the fire department being used as a prop?

What annexation threat is actually real?

The pitch warns Gray's Creek will be "annexed by surrounding municipalities." NC annexation reform in 2011-2012 effectively ended involuntary annexation. No active annexation petition from Fayetteville or Hope Mills exists. Name the annexation.

Gray's Creek Facts · Public Handout · No. 01 Side-by-side · What they're saying where

Two pitches. Same town. Different numbers.

The petitioners' Facebook post and their website tell different stories. Both are public. Both are sourced. Residents deserve to know which one is real.

§ Budget & revenue

Topic	Facebook post · May 2026	grayscreeknc.com · May 2026
Operating expenses	$11.0 million	$7.5 million
Total revenue	$17.0 million	$13.97 million
Sales tax / intergov.	$7.0 million	$4.0 million
Trash to residents	"Eliminate individual monthly trash bills"	$325 per household per year
Sheriff coverage	"Add 2 to 3 dedicated patrols"	"Option to fund if warranted"
Implied surplus	$6 million	$1.5M op. + $4.95M capital

§ Claims that don't survive scrutiny

Claim	What the petitioners say	What's missing or unsaid
Population	"Over 20,000 residents"	2020 Census for the township: 11,725
Annexation	"Be annexed or take control"	NC reform (2011-2012) ended forced annexation
PFAS authority	"Champion the Water Project"	$260M already committed by county & state. A new town adds no regulatory power.
$0.21 tax rate	Presented as the rate; lowered from $0.25 in June 2026	"Working planning estimate." First elected Council sets actual rate. Nothing is binding.
Powell Bill	$1.2M / $400K	Restricted to local street maintenance. Most major roads stay under NCDOT.
Agricultural rights	"Bona fide farms are protected"	Already protected under NC G.S. 106-700, regardless of incorporation.

If you take one thing away from this handout

A petition signature is a public record. It will be cited at the General Assembly. You can withdraw a signature later, but it is harder than not signing in the first place. The polite, honest answer at the meeting tonight is: "I'd like to read the charter and the feasibility study before I sign. When will those be published?" That answer is respectful, focuses on documents rather than personalities, and creates a public record of the petitioners being asked for materials they have not produced.