The Vance County Board of Commissioners is expected to adopt the FY 2025-26 budget at a meeting to be held at 4 p.m. on June 23. At a budget work session on Monday, June 16, commissioners discussed increasing teacher supplements, skyrocketing insurance costs and cost-of-living adjustments – all of which contributed to $3.1 million in new expenses that caused the budget to be about 10 percent more than last year’s approved budget.
County Manager C. Renee Perry said the 2025-26 budget stands at $66,383,251, which is $1.4 million more than the budget that she presented to commissioners in May.
Perry said $4,068,875 will come from the general fund to balance the budget.
With $1.2 million for health insurance, $1.2 million in additional funds to the school system and $750,000 in cost-of-living adjustments for county employees, the budget had no way to go but up.
Vance County Schools will use the extra $1.2 million to cover a supplement increase to $1,000 for certified teachers and a 2 percent adjustment for classified staff. “This will be recurring annually and it’s three pennies of the tax increase from last year,” Perry told WIZS News Tuesday morning.
During the budget work session, Commission Chair Carolyn Faines vocalized support for teachers. Despite decreasing enrollment, school consolidation and fewer teachers working in the district, Faines said, “Teachers are still teaching…it’s not about how many students or how many teachers.”
Commissioner Leo Kelly advocated for the supplement increase to show “we support you and we’re doing everything we can to keep you,” Kelly said. “I support giving them as much as we can.”
Property and liability insurance rates also climbed by $85,000, Perry said, because of the situation with the Department of Social Services child welfare liabilities takeover by the state and the ongoing issues at the detention center. And Perry Memorial Library Director Patti McNally asked for an additional $63,000 for library employees’ health insurance.
The rates had not been released when the library budget request was submitted, Perry said, so that’s why it was not included in the original request. Library employees are included among those who get health insurance from the county.
“At some point, we have to have discussions on how to possibly reduce our budget,” Perry stated to commissioners, “but also increase our tax base with economic development – we have to.”
About 20 minutes into the work session, Commissioner Tommy Hester asked where the county could look to decrease the budget.
“I’m going to bring up a touchy subject and I might as well bring it up now while we’re looking at a decrease,” Hester said.
He continued by stating that the Vance County Rescue Squad has received more than $785,000 in the past 35 months – that’s about $25,000 a month, he figured.
How much money would the county save if the rescue squad functions were placed under the umbrella of the Vance County Fire Department?
Addressing commissioners, Fire Chief Marvin Harrison said it would be a matter of millions, over 15 or 20 years’ time.
The current contract with the rescue squad ends on June 30, 2025, and commissioners agreed that a 90-day extension would allow for adequate discussion. Faines said she would like to have rescue squad representatives come to the July meeting.
Perry told WIZS News Tuesday that “the rescue squad would be funded for 90 days while Vance County Fire Department purchases equipment and apparatus needed to provide the same service that the rescue squad offers. “A lot of people in this community think that because it’s in Vance County that that’s part of the county. It is not,” Hester emphasized.
Harrison told commissioners that the county has sufficient staff trained for rescue to be successful if a consolidation occurs. Perry confirmed that statement Tuesday. “The county fire department has staff trained currently as well as other volunteer fire agencies trained to assist if needed.”
What the county lacks is the equipment necessary to do the job properly.
Harrison said the rescue squad is supposed to provide the services of heavy rescue, water rescue and another service that he didn’t specify.
Brummitt said the rescue squad assists firefighters on calls. “They…provide air bottles when they’re on scene, they refill air bottles when they’re fighting fires.”
Harrison said it would cost roughly $150,000 – a one-time cost – to purchase the equipment needed to perform the rescue services.
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