Burke County managers outline five‑year capital plan, highlight courthouse and public health building options

County Manager Bridal Efley told the Burke County Board of Commissioners on the morning of the work session that the purpose of the next two days of budget workshops is to give the board information and collect direction for the 2025–26 budget cycle.

The capital improvement plan update included a review of the county's debt-management policies, a recap of projects the county has funded the past two years and a look at several large projects that remain unfunded. Efley asked commissioners to use an 11-dot prioritization exercise planned for the next day to help finalize the county's priorities for capital and operational spending.

Why it matters: The county is balancing near-term operational needs with a long-term plan for buildings, rolling stock, and utility assets. The commission's spending policies and the capital reserve size will shape whether projects are paid out of grants and cash or financed with debt.

Efley reviewed the county's adopted debt management benchmarks and current standing. He said the county's debt-service burden is well under the policy limit: "the policy that this board has adopted is 15%. So no more than 15% of our total expenditure…