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Rowan County commissioners approve FY2025-26 budget amendments, raise certified‑staff supplement to 9%
Summary
After a public hearing, the Rowan County Board of Commissioners approved amendments to the FY2025‑26 budget, including a one‑percentage‑point increase in the certified‑staff supplement for the school system from 8% to 9%, funded by an appropriation from the unrestricted fund balance.
The Rowan County Board of Commissioners approved amendments to the county’s fiscal year 2025‑26 budget on June 2, 2025, after a public hearing and discussion about competing priorities including teacher pay, veterans and senior services and county personnel costs.
County Manager (name not specified) told the board the changes include an added soil‑and‑water grant, $20,000 for the YMCA request, $20,000 for Rowan Helping Ministries and a proposed move of the school system’s certified‑staff supplement from 8% to 9%. “The language is not teachers. The language is certified staff,” the County Manager said while explaining the change and the estimated cost.
The certified‑staff supplement increase would cost about $901,000; the manager said the total change to the budget is an increase of roughly $922,008 that would be balanced by an appropriation from the county’s unrestricted fund balance. The board voted fund‑by‑fund to approve the recommended amendments for General Fund 101 and the series of special and enterprise funds (fire district, emergency telephone, opioid settlement, risk management, landfill, airport, water, DSS trust, fines and forfeitures, ARPA), with all motions passing on voice votes.
Nut Graf: The action keeps the county on a path of incremental pay competitiveness for school staff while relying on one‑time fund balance to balance the increase; commissioners said the budget remains constrained by broader regional pay competition and fixed revenue limits.
During the public hearing, a resident identified as Mr. Kim urged the board to “take care of our county employees,” and highlighted seniors, veterans and disabled residents as unmet needs. “I realized that we have to take care of our county employees,” Mr. Kim said. In the board discussion, Commissioner Pierce said he had been on the board 13 years and warned that “there’s never enough money,” noting pressure to fund veterans and senior programs alongside pay and recruitment needs for public safety and other county personnel.
Chair remarks emphasized regional competition for employees and revenue differences with neighboring counties, noting that larger surrounding counties have materially larger budgets and that maintaining competitive pay is a continuing challenge. The board explained that some program expansions depend on state or federal funding and that if additional revenues materialize the commissioners would have flexibility to fund more priorities.
The board also approved a proclamation recognizing Oakdale Baptist Church’s 100th anniversary and heard an update on a Master Gardeners greenhouse project at West End Plaza; commissioners expressed support for the volunteer effort and noted the group has obtained a grant of approximately $28,000 and is raising matching funds for a roughly $100,000 project.
Ending: The board approved the line‑item amendments and individual fund budgets by voice vote and will adopt the full FY2025‑26 budget ordinance as amended through the standard fund‑by‑fund approvals. Any additional budget changes would be considered if new revenue or grants become available.
