The budget prepared by Interim County Manager Michael C. Griffin would reduce the property tax by seven cents to 47.5 cents per $100 property valuation and would lop off one cent from the Emergency Medical Services tax.
Moore County property owners now pay 54.5 cents plus 5 cents for paramedic/ambulance service.
From the proposed $53 million General Fund budget, Griffin recommends $17,520,000 for public school current expenses, an increase of 4 percent over the original 2002-03 allocation, but less than the $18.1 million requested by the Board of Education.
The budget proposal calls for $1 million for school capital outlay, reflecting no increase over the present budget.
Griffin’s proposal does not include $2.7 million requested by the school board to fund the first phase of a comprehensive technology program.
The proposed cuts may not be enough for some members of the Moore County Board of Commissioners.
“We’re spending a lot of money here,” board Chairman Michael Holden said. “It’s going to take some more work.”
“It needs a lot of work to be done here,” Commissioner Virginia Saunders said. “It’s too much of a tax increase. We’ve got to whittle that thing down.”
With property revaluation taking effect this year, both Holden and Saunders apparently were expecting an even lower tax rate.
Griffin estimates that a “revenue-neutral” rate would be 45 or 46 cents but warns that the county’s new tax base is not officially known yet. The tax administrator has estimated the tax base at $7.5 billion, reflecting growth of about $170 million.
However, because many property values increased to two or three times what they were eight years ago, taxpayers are continuing to appeal the higher valuations.
The Board of Equalization and Review has not completed its work. Once the E&R Board makes its final report, the county can determine the exact amount of the tax base.
Earlier in the day the commissioners officially appointed Steven D. Wyatt as the new county manager. Thus the budget proposal is the work of Griffin, who was deputy county manager and finance officer prior to the resignation last fall of the former Manager David McNeill. Griffin served as interim manager from that time until Wyatt’s appointment Monday.
In his budget message, Griffin emphasizes several places where the new manager should review requests and recommendations with the commissioners.
Holden thanked Griffin for his work on the budget and also expressed appreciation to Financial Services Director John Frye, Clerk to the Board Carol Thomas and County Attorney Lesley Moxley for their “hard work” during the crucial period when the county was without a manager.
“We have a lot of things to do in the next few months,” Holden said. “I think we’re all going to work together.”
The commissioners will hold a work session this afternoon to discuss the budget proposal. The schedule calls for another work session May 28 and perhaps two additional workshops after the public hearing on the budget is held June 2.
Building Up Fund Balance
Griffin’s budget proposal includes a Medicaid allocation of $3 million, an 11 percent in-crease. He reported that Medic-aid costs have been increasing at an annual average of 11.3 percent for the past eight years, creating an increased burden of 2.13 cents on the tax rate.
In the past, much of the cost has been absorbed through allocations from the fund balance, but this year Griffin proposes that the county reduce its reliance on the balance. In the proposed budget, the amount taken from the fund to balance the budget would be reduced from $3.6 million to $200,000.
“Bond rating agencies have recommended that we rebuild our fund balance reserves to stronger levels,” Griffin said in his budget message. “This budget is consistent with that recommendation and increases our available fund balance percentage from 2.9 percent to 8 percent.”
The Local Government Commission recommends that counties retain a fund balance of at least 8 percent.
Griffin said that a stronger fund balance would assure the county of an adequate cash flow and would assure maintenance of the A1/A-plus bond rating, among other advantages.
Debt service will climb to about $6.9 million, an increase of $900,000. This is a figure over which the county has little or no control. Griffin reminded the board that the county recently issued the final $11.5 million remaining in the school and college bond issue. Within the next four years, debt service should begin a decline, he said.
Funding for Sandhills Community College was proposed at $2,831,000 for current expenses and $150,000 for capital outlay. That’s a total increase of about $185,000 over this year’s budget but less than the $2.9 million (current expense) and $168,000 (capital outlay) that the college had requested.
Loss Of Reimbursements
State reimbursements are a thing of the past. In the past, the county received about $2.8 million a year in reimbursements for repealed taxes on intangibles and inventories and also for the senior citizens’ exemption. The state dropped all of these reimbursements last year.
The board has previously adopted a resolution implementing an additional half-cent sales tax, effective July 1, to offset the lost reimbursements. This should add about $2.5 million in revenues, it was estimated.
“The new sales tax represents a growing revenue source, and, over time, should totally offset the loss of state reimbursements,” Griffin said in his budget message.
The budget calls for 2.5 percent cost-of-living raises for employees with evaluations in the summer for a potential merit raise of up to 1 percent, all to become effective in October. This increase is estimated to cost $487,000.
Only Four New Positions
Department heads requested about 35 new positions, but the budget allows only four new full-time employees — a database manager for the emergency communications system, a communicable disease nurse and an administrative assistant for the health department, a network administrator for computer services. One part-time position, an elections assistant, was recommended.
Although the budget does not call for new positions at the Sheriff’s Department, Griffin recommends that the board ask the sheriff to present his budget at a budget workshop. He also recommended similar reviews of requests from Emergency Services, Social Services and Health.
The budget provides $20,000 in start-up administrative costs for the new North West Moore Water District and $151,252 for connection to the Montgomery County water system. It is expected that this money can be repaid through grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as was the case with the East Moore Water District.
For the East Moore Water District’s first full year of operation there is a proposal for $273,000.
To continue the existing contract with Partners in Progress, the budget calls for $90,000 to cover economic development, and there is a $100,000 item for the Airport Projects fund to cover the local share of potential federal grant projects.
As for utilities, the budget funds a full year of operations for Public Utilities, but Griffin added a note that this budget can be reviewed if and when part of the system is sold to the village of Pinehurst.
The budget recommendation continues the $1.20 per 1,000 gallons rate charged to customers of the county wastewater treatment plant.
Capital outlay recommendations are on the skimpy side with Griffin recommending that the board study requests from various departments. A $741,000 request for a new voting system is not included, but Griffin recommends that the Board of Elections make a presentation to the board.
A similar recommendation is made for the sheriff’s request for 38 vehicles, computer equipment, radio equipment, canine units, other equipment and furnishings, all totaling about $1.5 million.
The budget lists $426,000 requested for replacement equipment and other needs in Computer Services.
For most of the major allocations, the budget message suggests that the new county manager be given time to review the requests and recommendations before a final decision is made.
On the revenue side, Griffin’s recommendations remain on the conservative side because of the economic slump of the past two years. Sales tax revenue is estimated to climb 2 percent, and investment income is reduced by less than one-third the amount earned two years ago.
Griffin recommends a rate reduction for each of the 17 fire districts. These budgets are separate from the county’s General Fund.
State law requires that local governments have new budgets in place by July 1.
