New Hanover County residents may see a 2-cent increase in their property tax rate for the coming fiscal year, but landfill fees and the unincorporated area’s fire tax will drop under a budget that seems to have majority support from the board of commissioners.
The commissioners took public comment on the budget Monday, June 8, but the budget process began early this year as county manager Chris Coudriet and his staff crafted a document that originally included an increase of 5 cents per $100 of property value. The increase was designed to cover debt repayments from previously approved bond issues, including an expansion at Cape Fear Community College and construction and renovation projects for the New Hanover County Schools.
After several work sessions in May, the commissioners whittled down proposed spending to a 2-cent increase and a budget of $302.2 million, which is slightly lower than what the county will spend by the end of this year, Coudriet said.
Commission Vice Chairwoman Beth Dawson was pleased with the board’s discussions and the version the board will be asked to approve June 22.
“I think we have made a great deal of progress and have a budget that is very prudent, and responsible, and looks out for our community,” she said during a June 4 work session in preparation for Monday’s budget hearing.
Commissioner Woody White questioned a proposal to add a new “entitlement” program, in the form of daycare subsidies for about 100 children to help reduce waiting lists. That money would be in addition to state and federal money for daycare and early-childhood education programs.
Coudriet said he included the item based on priorities the county commissioners established in recent years, which include education and early education.
White and Commissioner Skip Watkins also had proposed using more of the county’s estimated $62.1 million unassigned fund balance to offset debt costs. Eventually the board added about $3 million more to what the staff had already recommended, bringing the total fund balance appropriation to $9.7 million, but did not authorize taking the county’s savings below the current 21 percent threshold.
Representatives of the schools and CFCC thanked the commissioners for their support and outlined how local money is spent. Schools Superintendent Tim Markley noted that students outperform their peers in the region and the state in large part because local taxpayers supplement state and federal funding. About one-third of school funding comes from county taxpayers.
Local money supports more than 630 teaching and staff positions in addition to the state, including many arts teachers. As a result, he said, the county has one of the best arts programs in North Carolina. The county’s contributions also allow the schools to offer many specialized programs, such as the Lyceum program at New Hanover High School and the International Baccalaureate program at Hoggard High School, among others, Markley said.
The local share also supports construction and maintenance of the schools. That money also likely will pay for the $300,000 driver education program, which the General Assembly stopped funding. A bill in Raleigh could restore that funding, but it is far from certain.
Driver education is a mandatory offering by the state, but school systems may only charge up to $65 per student to keep it affordable. The true cost is $250 to $300 per student, Markley said.
The school system requested nearly $73 million from the county for the fiscal year that begins July 1, up from $65.9 million this year. The commissioners cut the request by a little over $1 million.
Newly appointed CFCC President Amanda Lee said discussions with two commissioners and the county staff should help the college develop a long-range funding plan. The talks arose because the commissioners were looking for ways to cut the capital funding request for the coming year. What emerged was a list of priorities, with some projects deferred.
The current request is about $2 million above last year’s contribution, and the amount is almost evenly divided between operating and capital expenses, Lee said.
Monday’s public hearing also featured requests from a number of local nonprofits that would receive funding under the proposed budget.
The budget also calls for a 1.7 percent cost-of-living raise for county employees, and merit raises of up to 2 percent, based on a fixed pool of money.
The commissioners are scheduled to vote on the budget during their June 22 meeting, which is scheduled for 9 a.m. in the Historic County Courthouse, 24 N. Third St., Wilmington.
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