UPDATE: Tuesday, May 6 at 5 p.m.
Vance County Manager C. Renee Perry presented a proposed $64.3 million budget to county commissioners at their meeting Monday.
Perry hit the highlights of the 2025-26 budget in a summary to the Vance County Board of Commissioners, which includes additional funding for Vance County Schools, Vance-Granville Community College, the Granville-Vance Health Department and money for a new ambulance, among other items.
“This budget is more than balanced, it’s strategic,” Perry stated. “It reflects our goals of transparency, accountability and long-term progress. We are taking deliberate steps to correct financial practices of the past while making targeted investments in the people, infrastructure and services that shape Vance County’s future.”
Perry said the budget document should be posted on the county’s website by 12 noon on Tuesday.
Members of the public will have a chance to comment on the budget during the June 2 commissioners’ meeting. That also will be the first opportunity for commissioners to vote to approve the budget, which must be completed by June 30.
Commissioners agreed to hold budget work sessions beginning at 4 p.m. on Monday, May 12 and Tuesday, May 20.
No increases in property tax rates and fire tax rates are included in the budget, although Perry said solid waste fees would increase by $10 a month and there could be an increase in water rates for county residents.
The budget is a 5.74 percent increase over last year’s budget, largely fueled by overdue funding adjustments, implementation of a $1.1 million pay study and escalating operating costs.
Public safety, education and infrastructure are three main areas of focus, Perry noted.
“We confronted head-on the long-term impacts of prior underbudgeting, repeated audit findings” and inclusion on the Local Government Commission’s unit assistance list since June 2024, Perry told WIZS Tuesday because of late audits, embezzlement and audit findings.
“We are taking deliberate steps to correct financial practices of the past while making targeted investments in the people, infrastructure and services that shape Vance County’s future,” Perry told commissioners Monday evening.
Below are some of the numbers Perry highlighted to commissioners during her presentation:
- just over $122K in additional funding for Vance-Granville Community College
- $50,000 for Granville Vance Public Health to address rising costs and modernize their medical system
- $703,000 for a new ambulance, a remount, six new radios and funding for overtime pay
- $585,000 in additional operating funding for Vance County Schools
- $850,000 in capital funding for school-related projects like roof repairs
- $1.2 million increase in health insurance costs
- $60,000 to modernize the county website
- $75,000 for a new van for Cooperative Extension
Find the complete budget document here: https://www.vancecounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/MASTER-File-Website.pdf
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UPDATE: Monday, May 5, 2025 at 2:15 p.m.
The Vance County Board of Commissioners meets this evening for its regular monthly meeting. County Manager C. Renee Perry is scheduled to present the proposed 2025-26 budget.
The new budget must be approved by July 1, when the new fiscal year begins.
Information included in the agenda packet notes that Perry will present the proposed budget but will discuss in greater detail budget particulars during future work sessions.
It is expected that commissioners will schedule those budget work sessions in advance of the June 2 regular monthly meeting, which is when the public hearing on the budget will take place.
The 2024-25 budget came in at about $57.8 million.
At the time it was presented, the current budget was praised for being only about a 1 percent increase over the previous budget, but it didn’t have any money for jail renovations or a new EMS building, two big-ticket items that the county is considering.
Rising health insurance costs and cost-of-living increases are other items that may affect the budget that Perry will roll out to commissioners. County employees got a 4 percent COLA increase last year.
While it’s probably the most anticipated item on the commissioners’ agenda, the budget is not the only item. Here are a few other items the commissioners are likely to act on:
- A recent rezoning request for property on N.C. 39 South near Epsom. Perry is recommending that commissioners deny the request because it is not consistent with the county’s 1996 Land Use plan. Plans to put in a subdivision were met with some pushback by some county residents who spoke at the March commissioners’ meeting and commissioners requested then that the request be studied further.
- Granting the audit contract for 2024-25 is also under consideration. Included in tonight’s agenda is a recommendation that the county engage Thompson, Price, Scott, Adams, & Co.to conduct the annual audit. The fee is $61,500. The county still will send out requests for proposals, however.
- May 18-24 is National EMS Week, which Assistant County Manager Jeremy Jones is requesting commissioners to officially recognize. There’s a proclamation for commissioners to approve that highlights the dedication of EMS professionals and promotes awareness of the critical role that EMS plays in public health.
- Increase the minimum salary for social worker positions in the county. The N.C. Dept. of Health and Human Services “has expressed serious concern regarding the welfare of children in our county, which is being significantly impacted by ongoing staff vacancies across all levels of the Social Work team. Competitive compensation is critical to recruiting and retaining qualified professionals to ensure that essential services and protections for vulnerable children are not compromised,” according to an explanation in the agenda packet. Perry proposes a one-grade or two-grade increase in salaries for county social workers. Right now, the salary is $52,797; Perry proposes an increase to $55,172. She also proposes that the county consider building in more flexibility to the position, including allowing telework options that other nearby counties offer.
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