The Richmond County Commission will get a chance to review its more than $75 million budget during Tuesday’s monthly meeting.
With the state-mandated budget deadline set for July 1, county commissioners weigh in on the 2024-2025 budget, which includes $64,282,482 for the General Fund, $221,498 for the E-911 Fund, $249,124 for the Revaluation Fund, $6,545,934 for the Water Fund and $4,659,166 for the Solid Waste Fund for a total of $75,958,208.
“I have had the good fortune of being surrounded by professional department heads, many who have served the citizens of Richmond County for many years. They know the job that must be done and typically have an understanding of what our financial means are. It’s something we talk about and discuss in our department head meetings throughout the year, not just at budget time,” stated Land, in an email to the Richmond County Daily Journal.
Although an annual affair, one complication to this year’s budget comes during a revaluation year, which presents a unique challenge.
“It has been much more of a challenge than we thought going into this year. With this being the first year of our 8-year revaluation cycle, looking forward to this budget year in years past, I think we were all under the impression that this would be much simpler than a typical year,” Land stated. “One of the things that we must keep in mind and what’s on the forefront of all of our minds is providing as an efficient model of government to the constituents as possible, at the lowest possible cost. Revaluation complicates things as we still have an appeal process, dictated by NC State Statues, and it is rarely completed before the budget is due and statutorily required to be adopted. This complicates things when computing revenue estimates from property taxes.”
Another item up for revenue is whether to move forward with the construction of a $2 million shell building at the Richmond County Industrial Park.
The funding request comes from Richmond County Economic Development Director Matie Butler. Butler said the land for the shell building has been cleared and excavated, but building construction must wait until approval by county commissioners approve a loan agreement with Pee Dee Electric.
“We’re pretty far away with that project. I have to get the board’s approval to accept the loan funding,” Butler said.
Butler said the shell building at the industrial park would benefit economic development in Richmond County by attracting outside manufacturers to either relocate to Richmond County or establish themselves in Richmond County. With a building already in place, and not having to spend time to renovate an existing building or go out of pocket to construct a building, companies may put Richmond County higher on their list of potential suitors.
“Having product available is key in economic development. If you do not have any product, then you’re more than likely not going to have any new business or growth. We’ve had existing industries expand into our shell buildings and new businesses move into our shell buildings. We have a mixed bag … We’ve been at this for a while. It’s been a pretty good little program for us,” Butler said.
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