Bertie budget approved

WINDSOR – Following a long discussion here June 28, the Bertie County Board of Commissioners narrowly approved their FY 2024-25 operating budget, one that includes a six and one-half cent tax hike.

After nearly 40 minutes of debate, the vote was 3-2 to approve the $26,248,613 General Fund budget, Ron Roberson made the motion to approve the new budget and Corey Ballance Sr. offered a second. They were joined by board chairman John Trent in casting the three “yea” votes.

Ron Wesson and Michael White voted against the budget.

The board, following a budget public hearing on June 17, was advised of a possible four and one-half cent increase to the property tax rate. That came on the heels of a miscalculation and a software malfunction involving the appraised value of property in the county.

At the June 28 meeting, held just three days prior to the start of the new fiscal year, County Manager Juan Vaughan II addressed a growing number of vacancies in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and a need to adjust the salaries of that department in order to compete with what adjoining counties were paying their EMS staff.

“The request is for EMS staff to receive a salary increase of $3 per hour instead of three percent,” Vaughan said. “I do see the need to do that so our pay rate will be competitive so we can attract and retain staff.”

Vaughan said it would take $317,000 to cover the cost of those raises.

“Options are to find those additional funds in the budget or increase the tax rate an additional two pennies, going from 4.5 cents to 6.5 cents,” Vaughan stated.

Vaughan recommended to take a look at the budget to see where those funds could come from.

“If we don’t have staff to run our EMS trucks, we’re putting people’s health at risk,” Vaughan stressed.

He noted the proposed cut to the local public schools was based on declining enrollment and the recent closing of Aulander Elementary School.

Trent spoke about an option to cut funding from non-emergency transport, which is budgeted for FY 24-25 at over $800,000. He said it could be cut by $317,000.

“It would be very difficult to do that if we downsize [non-emergency transport] even further. There was talk about cutting it all together, but before we go there we’ve got to talk about a transition plan before we can completely wash our hands of an entire department,” Vaughan stressed.

“I said last year that we needed a 6 cent tax increase, but we didn’t do it and basically that what it boils down to this year,” Trent said. “I would be in favor of two more pennies if we need that. I don’t believe in taking away money from our school system that’s doing an excellent job.”

While he agreed with Trent about the job performance of the school system, Wesson said he favors reducing the schools budget in order to accommodate the raises for EMS.

“We’ve cut virtually every department that we can cut, but we refuse to cut the agency that we fund that I think is in the best financial shape and that’s the school system,” Wesson noted. “The point is the school system has cut their cost for operating three schools – Southwestern, Askewville Pre-School, and Aulander Elementary. The cost that they are saving is more than the $300,000 they are requesting. In addition, the Superintendent says we have maintained their level of funding despite declining enrollment.

“They [school system] have over $500,000 in ARPA funds and the big thing is they have over one million dollars they received from the sale of Askewville Pre-School,” Wesson added. “I believe that over one-half of that million dollars should have gone to our citizens to help them reduce their tax burden. They are the ones who paid for that school.”

Wesson also mentioned that the proposed tax increase takes away from the raises, if approved, for EMS staff. He added that the school system has a fund balance larger than the county.

Wesson offered a simple solution.

“If you make that one cut [to the schools], we’re there [reaching the level needed to cover EMS staff raises] and we’re doing so without an additional burden to our citizens. I will not vote for a budget that does not do that,” he stressed.

Trent noted that the extra two pennies needed for the EMS staff raises amounts to $1.66 per week per taxpayer.

“We need to keep our EMS department moving forward; if not we’re just kicking the can down the road,” Trent said, adding that the three options now on the table are to cut the school budget, cut non-emergency transport, and/or raise taxes by an additional two pennies.

“We’ve had numerous problems with this budget since the first day we got it on May 20. And now we’re out of time,” Trent said.

White expressed his dissatisfaction with the county manager’s handling of the new budget.

“It’s clear that this budget was rushed and poorly executed,” White remarked. “Errors in the figures and the lack of oversight by the manager created significant challenges for us. The manager did not catch a glaring $220 million error in property value.”

White continued by saying that the commissioners reach decisions based on the information provided to the board.

“We can’t make good decisions if we don’t get good information,” he stated. “While it’s inevitable that not everyone will be pleased with any budget we approve, it’s crucial to recognize that continual tax increases are unsustainable given the current economic climate and inflation.”

He added that a recent eight-hour-plus session held by the commissioners yielded what he thought was to support the school system and alleviate the burden on taxpayers.

“Despite identifying additional funds to benefit our schools, I was disappointed to find that the proposed budget still included the same tax hike,” White said. “I am fundamentally opposed to raising taxes, but I do support this budget.”

He added that the data he studied shows that non-emergency transport is operating at a loss.

“If the EMS requires a $3 per hour increase in wages, we can achieve that by discontinuing non-emergency transport,” White said before asking could the county approve an interim budget to allow a bit more time to develop a plan to end non-emergency transport services.

Vaughan said he disagreed that the budget was rushed and poorly executed.

“I can’t deny there were some issues we encountered that I am accountable for,” Vaughan admitted. “However, it’s very interesting that no one else was mentioned in your [White’s] dissatisfaction.”

Vaughan then answered White’s question about the interim budget, saying that is possible, but it cannot be a carryover of the FY 23-24 budget. A new one has to be adopted.

Wesson said he believes that non-emergency transport can be turned around and made profitable as it once was.

“It’s important to serve the citizens and one way to do that is funding the schools. It’s important to take care of EMS. It’s been five years since we’ve had a tax increase,” said Ballance.

The new General Fund budget is nearly $1 million higher than FY 2023-24 ($25,337,699).

The new property tax rate rises from 86.5 cents to 92 cents (per $100 of value).

Property taxes ($11,670,029), sales tax ( $3,885,558), landfill fees ($2,197,125), and motor vehicle taxes ($1,787,565) are the top sources of revenue for the 2024-25 budget.

Bertie Schools will receive $3,027,671 in current expense funding.

Other departments receiving large appropriations include Emergency Services ($3,797,227), the Sheriff’s Office ($2,790,236), Social Services ($1,539,161), and Public Buildings ($1,036,875).

The FY 2024-25 budget was effective July 1.

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