[{"_1":2,"_86":-5,"_87":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6512743,"mediaKeyId","5089382-8f43c401025b4cae23befad9a7a6d6e6","parentId",5089382,"title","Sampson County approves budget amendment to correct fire department revenue shortfall","audioSeconds",109,"startMs",383000,"endMs",492000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5089382-8f43c401025b4cae23befad9a7a6d6e6&start=383&end=492","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5089382-8f43c401025b4cae23befad9a7a6d6e6/thumbnail_383000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6512743/Sampson-County/North-Carolina/Sampson-County-approves-budget-amendment-to-correct-fire-department-revenue-shortfall","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6512743-e4085226881164aa12ae90016d3583fc/orig.mp4?Expires=1773711941&Signature=OBx-lh9yX~cIpsDmi2N9O2UeG3XXXTvomWJvpsMtPBoWRop-bQjyl9HRQuKZz2hoU4yF1AF0BLnaTA9ZDZN-NO~cjvGpRBwwq70DX8G40AoZ8CDI4RRBMW2CM9lPRweGltF4lH7VNBOG5cEhTSNsBiSqfoMf6-YWtZL6nQO4BmX9jqJyCRJ1eJ-LkWDPLR0D5DKrGcelKdPxNXkYgxq2~-OlqiU2c-E4Tx9GQx24r39DH-sJPHk1ZZ5jx~K~u~3i3grLaOwQg~3RTsEVxZm4FTSBVxBHTeBR4IvDDzotPPr~gf0tJFSR-99pz4K6wxbQMJfN7BMjgHeXirR7rPCScw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Sampson County","date","2025-06-27T14:28:20Z","article","The Sampson County Board of Commissioners approved a budget amendment at a special meeting to correct an accounting error that undercounted revenue for local fire departments, county staff said.

\"In front of you, you have a budget amendment to, to correct the budget error in this fiscal year,\" Melissa, a county staff member, told the board. She said that during the countywide property revaluation the county and some fire districts updated tax rates; the tax office collected the taxes at the proper rates but the budgeted revenue was not entered correctly in the county's financial system (Munis).

Melissa said as a result the county paused distributions to fire departments when those departments reached their budgeted amounts; additional revenue beyond the budgeted amounts went into a fund balance and was paid out in December under the existing contract process. The amendment restores the revenue line so the county can issue payments it owes under contracts that run through June 30, 2025.

One commissioner summarized the situation: \"We do owe this money. It has been taken away from the citizens of those areas at the proper rate, but they did not receive the money from the county at the rate that was approved by the board of commissioners to make it simple.\" The motion to approve the amendment was made, seconded and carried by voice vote.

County staff said they had discussed the issue with the affected fire departments and will issue the owed payments after the budget amendment is posted. The staff presentation did not specify the total dollar amount owed to fire departments, only that the error related to how revenues were entered into Munis and that payments previously were routed from a fund balance payable in December. Commissioners did not propose policy changes to contract terms; the action corrected the county accounting to issue payments under existing contracts.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Sampson County Board of Commissioners Meeting June 27, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The board approved a budget amendment to correct a Munis bookkeeping error that undercounted fire department revenue after a property revaluation, allowing the county to issue owed payments to local fire departments under existing contracts.","taxTitle","Sampson County, North Carolina","taxId",61429,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":44,"_47":80,"_49":81,"_51":82,"_53":83,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":84,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":85,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6512748,"Sampson County adopts ordinance to document use of American Rescue Plan funds",279,104000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5089382-8f43c401025b4cae23befad9a7a6d6e6&start=104&end=383","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5089382-8f43c401025b4cae23befad9a7a6d6e6/thumbnail_104000.jpg","/articles/6512748/Sampson-County/North-Carolina/Sampson-County-adopts-ordinance-to-document-use-of-American-Rescue-Plan-funds","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6512748-caba87ece56ce99e2ec69b04b2a33765/orig.mp4?Expires=1773711942&Signature=N9T~NIv~07VDf0Ge0wUWIMIq9f2H5IwMCVTIejZuVOxGzH21x5DhjhLTh0IniJIsWWDFMGUvTuj5bK4whIQBcKk6Dthq05BWJtQfJLUM53VB27UbM7HFc2jLq6T6-OEgwO8wfHK9K0YQ81gKa8SLl7NNpYR0zpRGa6rPya5ZMQhGT-aOmSKIK74icriwEX3W5~c8y30aaaR4yp4DRvOEFhT9G2-uP-RSRlm9lfhbtW5tJZht52PZIg5EtNe5ih94Vnnv1jA8pcTZfGtsA0WEdRgWnL7TLfrA-Q1jPq4IQE0fnYDCj1bCTdUUbXsW9eyvBS80grG7-nP1zxwwZkD15Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Sampson County Board of Commissioners at a special meeting in the County Auditorium adopted a project ordinance to retroactively document the county's use of American Rescue Plan Act fiscal recovery funds, county staff said.

Melissa, a county staff member, told commissioners, \"Back in 2021, we received 12, a little bit over $12,000,000 in fiscal recovery funds from the US Treasury. In September of 20 21, we the board approved the general funding plan for use of those funds.\" She said the ordinance uses a U.S. Treasury template to list allowable uses and to formally record how some of the money was spent.

The ordinance matters because federal rules require documented project-level approvals for many categories of ARPA spending. Commissioners said the documentation effort is intended to keep the county in compliance and to avoid federal recoupment. An unnamed commissioner summarized the risk, saying the documentation work will \"help you avoid the clawback of 2,400,000.0 to the feds.\"

County staff described several categories of prior spending covered by the ordinance: water infrastructure projects (including two elevated storage tanks and booster pump stations), premium pay or bonus pay for certain employees, and revenue-replacement uses. Melissa said the county can use up to $10,000,000 of the allocation for revenue replacement (a permitted ARPA use), and that the ordinance retroactively approves using part of the funds to cover sheriff's department and detention center officers' salaries and benefits and to pay for contracts for services the county entered into.

Commissioners said the county worked with outside advisers to prepare the ordinance. Melissa said the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners and the UNC School of Government reviewed the materials and assisted in preparing the retroactive approval so the county would not be in violation of federal requirements.

Commission discussion emphasized that this is not new money but a paper trail correction. One commissioner told Melissa, \"But, Melissa, let's be clear. None of this is new money. This is this is cleaning up paperwork.\" The motion to adopt the grant project ordinance was made and seconded and carried by voice vote.

The ordinance follows a general funding plan the board approved in September 2021; commissioners said the original plan was high-level and some specific expenditures were not documented at the time. The adopted ordinance retroactively documents those uses.

No dollar amounts beyond the $12.3 million total ARPA allocation, the $10 million revenue-replacement cap and the stated $2.4 million potential clawback were provided during the meeting.

Commissioners did not specify a timeline for publishing the fully updated project files or for any follow-up audits; staff indicated the documentation step completed at this meeting was the last missing piece to align county records with state and federal requirements.","The Sampson County Board of Commissioners adopted a project ordinance retroactively documenting how more than $12 million in American Rescue Plan Act fiscal recovery funds were used, including allocations for water infrastructure, premium pay and revenue replacement for public safety payroll and contracts to avoid a potential federal clawback.","actionData","errors"]

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Sampson County approves budget amendment to correct fire department revenue shortfall

Sampson County adopts ordinance to document use of American Rescue Plan funds