Editor’s Note: WIZS is taking a closer look at the Vance County Commissioners’ annual retreat and will bring you excerpts from the topics that were discussed in upcoming TownTalk segments.
At their annual retreat last week, the Vance County Board of Commissioners spent a good chunk of time talking about money – dollars coming in and dollars going out – and the impact that flow will have on county residents’ pocketbooks.
During the retreat, held Friday, Jan. 19, County Manager Renee Perry said the county capital improvement plan includes repairs to the existing jail, new EMS substation, a new EMS/fire substation and a new detention facility.
All that comes with a price tag – the new jail estimated at $50 million alone – that the county can’t manage without considering some sort of a tax increase.
“We don’t have the revenue to support a debt service on the jail,” Perry explained. Even with USDA funding, she expects the county would be paying at least $2 million a year on a 40-year note – and that’s with a relatively low interest rate of 3 percent. If that interest rate were just a tick higher at 4 percent or 4.5 percent, that amount would climb to more than $2.5 million annually.
Although Perry pointed out benefits of a tax increase – supporting Vance-Granville Community College and social services and creating more competitive pay packages to recruit and retain employees – she acknowledged the negative impact to taxpayers.
“Even a small increase can be burdensome,” she said.
Any tax increase the county decides on would “go directly to capital (improvements) and nothing else,” she emphasized.
The board approved spending up to $2.9 million on repairs to the current jail, with that money coming from the fund balance. Those repairs are predicted to be complete by November 2026.
A new EMS substation, with an estimated cost north of $2 million, is on the CIP, too. The land has been purchased, and construction costs are going to come from fund balance.
With a projected $10 million price tag, the EMS/fire substation will most likely have to be financed.
Questioned by Commissioner Dan Brummitt about the high cost of the EMS building construction, Perry said “It won’t be less than a million. It’s not going to be cheap.”
Assistant County Manager Jeremy Jones said the 4,000 square-foot building will include sleeping quarters for eight, as well as bathrooms, a kitchen and a day room.
While basic construction with basic amenities, it will be quality construction. “I don’t want to just throw a building up,” he said.
About all the proposed projects Board Chair Carolyn Faines said, If we’re going to build, we’ve got to build for the future.”
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