Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the County Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Iredell County adopts $3.34 billion budget, no new county positions
Summary
The Iredell County Board of Commissioners adopted the fiscal year 2025–26 budget, keeping the tax rate at 50 cents per $100 valuation, funding schools and capital projects largely from reserves and declining to add new headcount this year.
The Iredell County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved the fiscal year 2025–26 budget, adopting a proposed general fund plan built on a 50-cent tax rate and no new county positions.
County Manager Milton told the board the ordinance “includes for the general fund a proposed budget of $3,343,847,360” and said the plan relies on the county’s saved cash to complete several major school and capital projects. “70 and a half million dollars is the amount of cash that we are taking out of saved dollars that we have saved for projects and putting towards schools,” Milton said.
The budget ordinance as presented by Finance staff and reviewed in public workshops includes continued funding for public schools and Mitchell Community College, school debt service and appropriations for county fire districts. Finance director Caroline Taylor reviewed adjustments made since the manager’s recommendation, including reallocations tied to final state funding notices for emergency telephone services and modest shifts among facility project lines to avoid double-counting.
Commissioners emphasized fiscal restraint in debate. Commissioner Stroud praised the county’s “pay-as-you-go” approach and the finance team’s attention to detail, noting the county’s preference to use reserves over new borrowing where possible. Vice Chair Nieder and Commissioner Hamill thanked staff for the months-long budget work and noted the pressure on departments from rapid population growth.
Manager Milton said the board had deliberately added no new permanent positions in the fiscal plan despite continued growth pressures: “We are going into year 3 of that. We do not want to increase the tax rate because when we set a tax rate in a reappraisal year, our goal is to maintain that tax rate for 4 years.”
The board voted to adopt the budget ordinance after public hearing and a motion by Commissioner Stroud. The ordinance also appropriates funds in enterprise and special-revenue accounts, updates capital-project fund appropriations and recognizes final state distributions where applicable.
What happens next: the budget takes effect July 1. County staff noted some multiyear capital projects remain on hold pending available cash and that savings give the county stronger terms should borrowing later become necessary.
