Tag Archive for: #retreat

TownTalk: Vance County Commissioners Planning Retreat Coverage Pt. 4 – Economic Development

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Economic development is top of mind for many in the area: more businesses locating here means more jobs and more tax revenue. County leaders like Economic Development Director Ferdinand Rouse know that prospective industries look at a variety of factors when considering where to locate. It’s not some mysterious, unknown list: businesses are looking for, among other things, a well-trained workforce, shovel-ready sites and buildings ready to be upfitted.  Other factors like tax incentives and the presence of existing infrastructure can make or break a decision, too.

Rouse reviewed the county’s economic development picture during the recent retreat of the Vance County Board of Commissioners.

He took a few moments to look back at 2025 and then started in on what the 2026 picture is looking like so far.

Unemployment inched up a bit last year, but the overall number of jobs is up in the county, he noted.

The county’s biggest employers remain in the social systems, retail and health care sectors, he said, with health care related jobs having continued shortages

There’s a greater need for what Rouse called “front line employees” like RNs and CNAs.

Through strong partnerships such as those with Maria Parham Health, Kerr-Tar COG and the city of Henderson, Rouse said the county is working “to put our best foot forward” to address needs.

What the county needs most, he said, are shovel-ready sites that are available for quick turnaround when prospective business and industry send out their inquiries.

The county plenty of sizable tracts – 50 acres, 100 acres, but it’s the infrastructure that sometimes is lacking. If there are roads to access the properties, there may not be water. If there’s water and sewer available, the fiber internet capability may be lacking.

“We’re a victim of our own success,” Rouse said, referring to North Carolina’s number one ranking among states when it comes to economic development and success.

A lot of peer counties – those counties that are similar in nature to Vance when it comes to being ready for economic development – are operating at an optimum level.

That puts them in a better spot to land the business or industry, and “makes us less competitive on time-sensitive projects.”

When state leaders field inquiries and then pass them on to counties, they often expect a quick turnaround – if the county can’t provide detailed responses in a week, they get passed over, he said.

One recent victory came when the China-based company Syntec Precision Technology announced that it’s coming to Vance County, bringing 60 jobs and a $10 million investment as it locates a medical component manufacturing facility here.

Rouse and his team are taking information from a couple of studies – the Golden Leaf Site Selection Study and the Timmons group – to find the truly best sites and focus energies on acquiring those tracts,” he said.

With this multi-pronged approach – grant funding, targeting attractive sites and working with a good group of partners, Rouse said the county is taking positive steps to “put ourselves in a good position to make Vance County successful and have the growth that we desire.”

 

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TownTalk: Vance County Board Retreat Recap – Part 2

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The Vance County Board of Commissioners’ annual retreat gives commissioners and county staff an opportunity to exchange information and opinions as they discuss a variety of topics that are sure to come up in 2026.

In the Jan. 9 retreat, there was a lot of discussion about revenues and spending, giving commissioners and staff a glimpse into what likely will be a part of future budget discussions.

In Commissioner Dan Brummitt’s view, it’s less a matter of money coming in than money going out and more about being more efficient when it comes to spending.

“I don’t believe we have a revenue problem,” Brummitt said during the retreat. “I believe we have an expense problem.”

County Manager Renee Perry assured the commissioners that the county doesn’t “just spend money” for the sake of spending. “We don’t have enough revenue to support anything at this point,” she countered.

“We know that we have an issue with revenues. we fully understand that,” she said. Vance County remains a Tier 1 county, along with almost half the rest of the counties in the state, which means it has higher unemployment, lower median salary and lower tax base than Tier 2 and 3 counties.

Personnel take the biggest bite out of the county’s budget, what with soaring insurance costs and even the slightest bumps in pay to try to improve recruitment and retention.

The county has 380 employees and 70 vacancies. Commissioners could opt to cut those vacant positions as cost-saving measures, but the bulk of those vacancies are in the sheriff’s office, detention center and Department of Social Services, three areas that typically experience chronic staffing shortages.

Perry told commissioners she had asked department heads once again not to request any new positions in the upcoming budget cycle, despite the fact that she knows they need the extra positions.

Speaking of personnel, Perry said she would recommend that commissioners consider again for the upcoming budget a 3 percent cost-of-living increase for county employees and put on the back burner – again – implementing the $1.2 million pay study salary increases.

A 3 percent COLA adjustment equals just more than $668,000, and Perry said that’s her recommendation simply because of all the other priorities the county has at the moment.

She would like to see the county consider a performance pay plan in the future, adding that it could start at a flat rate, moving later to a percentage plan.

So, if there’s not enough money coming in to sufficiently cover the county’s expenses, what’s a county government to do? There are a few choices to raise more revenue, including raising taxes.

One option that Perry encourages commissioners to consider is a local option sales tax increase. That requires a referendum for voters to approve.

Right now, the sales tax rate is 6.75 percent, and it could go up to a maximum of 7 percent, which would provide some extra money in the county coffers.

“I do think that this board should have a conversation at some point about getting the max on the sales tax – that would just be my recommendation,” Perry said. “I’m just surprised that we’ve never explored that here in this county…we get good revenues from sales tax.”

Perry predicted that a ¼-cent sales tax increase would translate to as much as $1.5 million in revenues.

Another option would be to raise the property tax rate, and staff has done some preliminary projections about what that could look like, but Perry said she’d hold off on those discussions until budget work sessions take place later in the spring.

If revenue projections are on the mark, the county is expected to add $400 to its tax base this year – $4.8 billion – up from $4.4 billion last year.

Another conversation for later, as the money comes in, Perry said. “That’s what we’re hoping for – that’s what we’re going to talk about in budget work sessions.”

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