Tag Archive for: #budget

TownTalk: Henderson City Council Voted, Approved Motion NOT To Pass Budget

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Despite previously reaching a consensus to adopt the FY 26-27 budget, the Henderson City Council on Monday night heard, duly seconded and passed a motion NOT to pass the budget.

Mayor Melissa Elliott voted yes, to not pass the budget, in order to break a 4-4 tie otherwise.

The motion to not pass the budget was made by Geraldine Champion and seconded by Catherine Gill at the regular June 8 monthly meeting.

Champion said she could not approve the budget the way it looks.

Members who voted in favor of not passing the budget included Champion, Gill, Mayor Pro Tem Tami Walker, and Michael Venable.

Members who voted against the motion were Garry Daeke, Kenia Gomez-Jimenez, Lamont Noel and Sam Seifert.

The City Attorney reminded that a budget needed to be passed, and the City Manager suggested a special called meeting. The date and time of that special called meeting has not been announced, and it will require at least a 48-hour notice be made to the public.

Champion used an analogy to make the trimming of the budget akin to cutting down a tree, and she took issue with “starting at the bottom,” near the root. In Champion’s analogy the money to be cut, the big money, was at the top of the tree.

She said very rarely does a person start at the root with cutting because it’s going to fall and cause damage.

“That’s what I see that happened in this particular budget. You started at the bottom. You’re trying to cut a $22,000 a year job, but you didn’t go to the top of the tree. And at the very top of that tree is where the tremendous amount of money is.”

The big money Champion is talking about is cuts to staffing.

“It’s just my opinion that some of those departments don’t need all those people,” she said, citing, “That’s just my opinion. I don’t work there. I’m not the expert on that.”

The $22,000 a year job, referred to by Champion, is in her analogy down at the root, important, and that job is the position of Assistant to the Mayor.

Champion said of Finance Director Joey Fuqua, “Yes. You have been thorough with what you’ve done. You’ve said everything you need to say.”

Gomez-Jimenez said after Fuqua reviewed the timeline, including strategies to save throughout FY 26-27, it’s “not a feel-good budget but a culmination of paths to this point.” She spoke of an opportunity to improve the City’s organization and told Fuqua, “You have produced a good budget.”

On May 11, 2026 the FY 26-27, a balanced recommended budget was presented to the City Council followed by two budget work sessions on May 12 and May 14, a public hearing on May 21 and a final work session on May 28.

To hear more, including audio from the June 8 regular monthly meeting, please click play!

Review of City of Henderson Public Hearing on Budget

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Three individuals signed up to speak at the Henderson City Council’s public hearing on the FY 26-27 budget that was held on Thursday, May 21 but it took more than 40 minutes for those speakers to address the Council members.

For the first half hour or more, several Council members had questions for City Manager Paylor Spruill and Finance Director Joey Fuqua that centered around how the city got itself into the undesirable situation of having to dip into fund balance in order to balance the budget.

In his response to Mayor Pro Tem Tami Walker’s question about the pay study implementation, Fuqua reminded Council members about how more than $4 million in federal ARPA funds had been used to help address employee turnover and retention rates.

About 80 percent of municipalities across the state offer a cost of living adjustment each year, he added, but Henderson has been able to offer a COLA only four out of the last 10 years.

It was FY 2025 that the salary increases started, and Fuqua said the city spent “an enormous amount of fund balance” to balance that budget.

“When those salaries hit the bottom line,” he said, “we’re on the hook for that every year.”

This year’s $51.7 million budget also earmarks $5 million from the fund balance to balance the budget. As Fuqua explained, that doesn’t mean that is the final number that will be needed, but represents a maximum amount from the unassigned fund balance that could be used.

The FY 26 budget audit has not been finalized yet, but Fuqua said if the city uses another $1.2 million or so as it needed for FY 25, then his prediction becomes clearer: the fund balance is set “to take another record-breaking hit. Without new revenue streams, next year at this time we’ll be in an even more challenging situation” because there won’t be enough money in fund balance to offset the shortfall.

The City Council will have another budget session on Thursday, May 28 at 5 p.m. in Council chambers.

The 2026-27 budget must be approved before the new fiscal year begins on July 1.

 

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TownTalk: Vance County Manager Presents FY 26-27 Budget

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County Manager Renee Perry presented the 26-27 budget to commissioners on Monday. The proposed general fund budget is $72.47 million, which represents an 8.97 percent over last year’s budget.

The budget maintains the current property tax rate and there would be no change in the fire tax, Perry said. About $7.5 million would be appropriated from the fund balance to support operations and capital needs and maintain a balanced budget.

This budget is driven largely by the planned capital investment that the county is anticipating, including construction of a new jail and other critical projects, like a new EMS fire station and EMS substation.

(You can hear clips of the commissioners and manager in the embedded audio below.)

County employees would get a 3 percent cost of living increase, partial implementation of the compensation study and a one-time performance-based pay program.

Perry cited rising costs in insurance, detention operations, social services and retirement contributions as factors to consider when creating a budget for the county.

All county-funded agencies will be level-funded in the proposed budget, and Perry invited all stakeholders to the table to discuss their needs during the budget work sessions.

Perry’s budget includes creation of a $5 million capital reserve fund to address future debt obligations.

The county remains on the Local Government Commission’s Unit Assistance list, and Perry said while she acknowledges the audit findings that persist within the county’s financial accounting procedures, she said staff has made good progress in addressing those findings and clearing them up.

Earlier in the meeting, when Perry was reviewing the audit report, Commissioner Dan Brummitt took issue about the findings and said the board needed to keep an eye on what’s going on as the effort to reduce budget violations continues.

Chair Carolyn Faines, however, thanked Perry and said she and staff are doing a good job.

Perry said a paper copy of the budget would be available Tuesday at the county office for the public to review and a copy is available on the county’s webpage at vancecounty.org/departments/board-of-commissioners

Perry asked commissioners to take some time to compile a list of questions and comments they have and send them via email to Perry in advance of the scheduled work sessions so she and staff will have adequate time to provide answers.

Budget work sessions were scheduled for 4 p.m. on Tuesday, May 12 and Monday, May 18.  Citizens will get a chance to weigh in on the budget at a public comment hearing on Monday, June 1 beginning at 6 p.m.

Thirteen people signed up for public hearing – Chair Carolyn Faines opened the public comment by reading a prepared statement calling for the audience and speakers to conduct themselves in a proper manner or they’d be escorted out of the meeting. Each person had 2 min and 20 seconds to speak.

  • 6 spoke in opposition to the idea of a data center in the county.
  • 4 spoke about funding for schools and school employees.
  • Kelley Wade Perdue zeroed in on audit findings, citing a lack of internal controls, resulting in incorrect tax billing
  • Angie Ryan asked for a public forum to give the community a chance to ask questions and gets answers. There’s a lot of discussion but few facts, she said, adding that clear communication prevents misinformation.

As part of the county manager’s report, Perry said the N.C. Association of County Commissioners N.C. Association of County Commissioners is recommending that all 100 counties adopt a resolution that opposes modifications to the county property tax authority being discussed in the General Assembly by the Property Tax and Reform Committee.

The resolution would support maintaining local authority over property tax decisions because of the critical role property tax plays to ensure fiscal stability and responsiveness to community needs.

There is discussion about placing a cap or creating structural changes to the property tax legislation.

This would significantly reduce local flexibility and negatively impact the county’s ability to meet service demands and long-term obligations, Perry stated. The resolution would support preservation of local control.

Commissioner Brummitt said he would not support the resolution. “I think at this point we need some oversight from the state to do that. I cannot support this resolution,” citing the steep rise in county budgets over the past four years.

As part of Perry’s response, she said the talk is focused on increasing budgets, but there is little talk about “kicking the can down the road” that the county has done for years. basically,

She said she didn’t want people to think that “this administration just spends money because we want to. That is not what we do.”

She said county salaries have been below standard for years. In the past 3 years, the county budget has provided a 7 percent COLA in her first year, and 3 percent increases last year and this year.

“It costs to run county government,” she said.

The commissioners voted 6-1 to approve the resolution. Brummitt cast the lone “no” vote.

CLICK PLAY for audio coverage!

The Local Skinny! County Manager Releases Revised Budget

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Vance County Manager C. Renee Perry said that her $64.3 million proposed budget presented to commissioners last week had some missing information, which prompted a line-by-line review of the numbers to create a revised budget.

The revised budget seems to be about $600,000 more than the original budget, coming in at $64,933,833.

“I know errors happen, but I hated for this to happen,” Perry told WIZS News. ”There was an issue with the data transfer from one spreadsheet to the next, and some of the expenditures and some of the requests did not make it in my budget,” she explained.

Perry said she and her team used a different process with the spreadsheets used to create the budget and “when we merged the data, we didn’t catch that some of the departments’ recommendations were missing, so it threw my numbers off.”

Perry said “something was on my mind” after the Monday, May 5th presentation to commissioners, and when she started looking through the spreadsheets, she realized something was missing.

She emailed commissioners first thing the next day, Tuesday morning May 6, to inform them of the issue.

“As soon as I was aware, I made them aware,” she said.

Perry said she and her team reviewed the budget over the last week, “making sure that we budgeted properly and that what I’m presenting to the commissioners are the things that they need to consider. I don’t want to go after July 1 and realize, ‘Oh, my God!’ we don’t have money for that,” she said.

“I need to present what we need for fiscal year 25-26 in its entirety, and I did not do that (at the Monday meeting). I’m taking full accountability, being transparent…to be able to present what I need to present to my commissioners.”

The revised budget was posted on the county’s website this Wednesday, May 14, giving commissioners a week to review before the scheduled May 20 budget work session.

The public hearing on the budget remains scheduled on June 2 at the regular monthly commissioners’ meeting.

If you happened to notice the first scheduled budget work session for this past Monday, May 12th, was cancelled.  This is the reason why.

In Perry’s cover letter to the budget presented to commissioners, she wrote:

“With all funds balanced and revenues and expenditures noted, this budget will not only meet statutory requirements but primarily seek to move Vance County forward in the next fiscal year by continuing to address needs within our infrastructure, services, and targeting opportunities of growth to capitalize on the inherent strengths of the communities across the County. The following message will outline points of emphasis and funding within the budget and highlight characteristics of the County that point toward continued strength and growth.”

The manager’s proposed budget does not include an increase nor a decrease in the general fund property tax rate of .7129 per $100 in value. The budget does not include an increase nor a decrease to 5.94 cents fire tax rate.

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TownTalk: Commissioners Receive Proposed 2025-26 Budget At Monday’s Meeting

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UPDATE:  Friday, May 9 at 6:30 p.m.

Vance County Manager C. Renee Perry said late Friday that the budget work session of the Vance County Board of Commissioners originally scheduled for Monday, May 12 has been cancelled. The first budget work session will be Tuesday, May 20.

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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City of Henderson FY21-22 Proposed Budget Public Hearing

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Budget Hearing Information Courtesy of The City of Henderson — 

The Henderson City Council FY21-22 Proposed Budget Public Hearing will be held on Monday, May 17, 2021, at 6:00 p.m. in Council Chambers, 134 Rose Avenue.  The public is invited to attend, submit written comments, make oral comments and/or ask questions about the budget, in whole or part, during the Budget Public Hearing period.  However, due to Covid restrictions, Council Chambers can only accommodate a limited number of individuals.  Please contact the City Clerk (252-430-5705) to submit written comments.

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Topic: Budget Public Hearing
Time: May 17, 2021 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
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