County Manager recommends a "hold the line" budget with same tax rate | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This article originally appeared in the Beaufort Observer.

    Beaufort County Manager Randell Woodruff present his proposed budget for FY 2013 to the Board of Commissioners on Tuesday night (5-7-12). It could be characterized as a "hold the line" budget with the resulting property tax rate being the same as this past year ($.53 per $100 in property value).

    The total expenditures would be $51,820,963 compared to this year's $52,691,357, a net reduction of $870,394. It appropriates $350,000 of the county's expected year-end fund balance but Woodruff explained that he did not anticipate actually spending the $350,000. The budget projects 1.63% increase in real property valuation and a 5.08% increase in Motor Vehicles valuation, while also projected a state-derived projection of a small increase of $109,955 increase in Sales Tax collections.

    The recommendation includes increases and some decreases (mostly bookkeeping adjustments) in expenditures with a $205,985 increase for Beaufort Community College, $223,301 increase in public schools current expense while keeping school capital outlay constant. A major increase of $198,294 will go to pay the debt service on the Quick Start II building and $208,000 in debt service for the Allied Health Building at BCCC.

    The budget does include a 2% increase for county employees and a half percent increase in matching 401K contributions. The largest increase of $1,044,646 includes 7 new vehicles in the Sheriff's Department and 4 other county vehicles.

    You can review the budget summary by clicking here.

    Click here to view the entire detailed proposed budget.

    The Manager's recommendation holds constant most of the appropriations that draw so much attention each year for those activities that are not mandated county functions, such as recreation, donations to various non-profit agencies and such.

    The amount recommended for "Economic Development" is $273,757 compared to $278,171 appropriated this year but more than the anticipated actual expenditures of $262,864.

    You can watch the Manager's presentation to the board in the following video:



    At the same meeting the Board authorized the staff to proceed with re-financing outstanding county debt, including the debt on the water districts. We'll have more on that later.