Now that city and county elected officials have gotten recommended budgets from the city and county managers, it’s time for budget work sessions and public hearings to hear citizens’ comments before the final budgets are adopted.
State law requires that local governments must adopt their budgets before July 1, when the new fiscal year begins. June 1 is Saturday and July 1 is on a Sunday, giving leaders 20 business days to complete the difficult work of making any adjustments to the budget documents before the budgets are adopted.
The Vance County Board of Commissioners officially received the $57 million-plus budget just Monday from Manager C. Renee Perry.
This is Perry’s first budget presentation to this board of commissioners, and she told WIZS News said it was her decision to go with a revenue-neutral budget. The proposed property tax valuation is 61.3 cents per $100 valuation. The current valuation is 89 cents per $100, but the most recent reappraisal process has boosted the total property value by $2 Billion – to $4.9 billion from $2.9 billion.
The Henderson City Council received a $45 million budget from City Manager Terrell Blackmon earlier this month. The budget includes a 55-cent per $100 valuation – 10 cents higher than the revenue-neutral rate of 45 cents per $100 valuation.
The recommended city budget does not include any funding for McGregor Hall, which had requested $75,000. At Monday’s public hearing, there was a suggestion that was floated to give McGregor Hall a one-time $75,000 grant, provided other stipulations are in place – including having a current Council member on the voting board of the entertainment venue.
Numerous McGregor Hall proponents spoke at the Monday public hearing to voice their support of providing funds to the performing arts venue.
Like the city budget, Perry’s budget to county commissioners does not include any funding for McGregor Hall. It also doesn’t include funding for capital projects like jail renovations or a new EMS station.
“I’m not sure if they will change it, but I don’t plan on recommending an increase … I will be clear about items that can’t be funded without a tax increase,” Perry said to WIZS.
The 2024-25 county budget is less than 1 percent higher than last year’s budget – it’s larger by about $347,000. In her presentation, Perry stated that the budget was a conservative one.
The county will hold a public hearing as part of its Monday, June 3 meeting and budget work sessions on Monday, June 10 and Thursday, June 13 – all beginning at 6 p.m.
The city’s next budget work session, previously scheduled for Thursday, May 30, has been cancelled.
The next city meeting is set for Monday, June 3.
The 158-page recommended city budget document can be found at https://henderson.nc.gov/. Under the Departments heading, click on Finance to go directly to the dropdown box where the document is located.
The 138-page recommended county budget can be found at https://www.vancecounty.org/. Under the Departments heading, click on Board of Commissioners and locate the file in the dropdown box on the right side of the page.
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