Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget Public Comment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Johnston County commissioners hear budget requests, including $50,000–$100,000 ask for community action and $15,000 farmers market pilot
Summary
At a June 9 meeting, the board heard public comments on the FY 2025–26 budget, including a request from Johnston‑Lee‑Harnett Community Action for $50,000–$100,000 in unrestricted county support and a Down Home North Carolina request for a $15,000 pilot to help farmers markets accept SNAP/EBT.
The Johnston County Board of Commissioners on June 9 heard public comments and budget-related discussion ahead of a scheduled vote on the fiscal 2025–26 budget at the board's next meeting.
Judge Eddie Rawls, chair of Johnston‑Lee‑Harnett Community Action, told the board the agency serves Johnston County and neighboring counties and asked commissioners to consider an unrestricted allocation "between $50,000 to a $100,000 in unrestricted support through our budget here at the county" to meet urgent community needs. Rawls described the agency's Head Start programs and other services, saying it serves 281 Head Start children and 60 Early Head Start children and that "2,286 individuals" in Johnston County had been served by some program offering in the recent period he cited.
Ruby Bryant, identified as the agency's interim executive director and long-time human resources director, joined Rawls at the podium.
Liz, an organizer with Down Home North Carolina, asked commissioners to fund a pilot to help at least one local farmers market accept SNAP/EBT benefits. She said the group's request is "a minimum of $15,000 to pilot a program like this to at least 1 local farmer's market," describing that amount as covering equipment, promotion and token supplies to lower barriers for vendors and markets.
Commissioners discussed budget priorities and the tax rate. A citizen email from Jason Daniels asked the board to consider a "revenue neutral tax rate" plus inflation, which the chair read into the record. Commissioner Gowling said projecting a revenue-neutral rate is difficult because of unknown sales tax receipts and suggested the eventual rate could be "in the upper forties to 50¢ range," adding he is only one vote on the board.
County staff and commissioners noted several unknowns that affect the budget, including pending property tax appeals and variable sales tax receipts. The board said it will consider adoption of the budget at its meeting next Monday. No formal budget decisions were made at the June 9 meeting.
