BELHAVEN — Mayor Adam O’Neal filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday, according to documents filed at the Beaufort County Superior Clerk of Court’s Office.

A public auction for his 693 Water St. home in Belhaven was scheduled for Thursday morning on the steps of Beaufort County Courthouse, as part of foreclosure proceedings. Shapiro and Ingle, a law office based in Charlotte, was handling proceedings.

“The debtors have failed to pay the monthly installments for the months of February 1, 2016 and subsequent months. The current principal balance is $432,113.05,” a Jan. 10, 2017, affidavit reads.

However, auction proceedings were halted with O’Neal’s chapter 7 bankruptcy filing.

A chapter 7 filing does not require a repayment plan, but instead involves selling the debtor’s assets to pay off debts, according to the Federal Judiciary. If a person files for bankruptcy, it is standard for foreclosure proceedings to stop.

Bankruptcy is filed in federal court, and O’Neal’s case is assigned to Judge Joseph Callaway of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court Eastern District of North Carolina.

O’Neal said his financial problems are the result of his fight to reopen Belhaven’s hospital, which Vidant Health closed on July 1, 2014. The building was demolished in December 2016.

“My family’s financial struggles due to putting the people’s interest above our own is the story here. I have worked for 3 and a half years for my people for no pay, except $100 a month for the last year. The fight has taken all my focus and determination. I will keep on fighting for emergency room services for my people,” O’Neal wrote in an email on Thursday. “My personal situation is a direct result of abandoning my personal interests for the good of our community. I take my duty as Mayor very serious.”

Documents state that a meeting of creditors is scheduled for March 8 in Greenville.