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Rockingham County previews budget as administration flags roughly $3 million gap
Summary
Commissioners said preliminary 2025 budget forecasts show about $3 million in additional inflation-driven expenses; county administration and department heads are preparing workshops and cuts aimed at avoiding a tax increase.
Commissioner Kevin Berger said Rockingham County officials opened the 2025 budget process after a recent retreat, and preliminary forecasts show roughly $3,000,000 in additional expenses driven by inflation.
The early estimate frames a series of workshops and departmental reviews, Berger said, aimed at trimming costs to avoid a property tax increase. "He and administration presented to us with some very preliminary numbers, that showed forecast based on the current budget and just with inflation we've got additional expenses that are, about more about 3,000,000 more dollars in expenses," Berger said.
Commissioner Jeff Cowell, who was sworn in to the board in December and said some of the process is new to him, noted the schedule will include multiple public workshops. "Well I noticed there's going to be a lot of workshops coming up," Cowell said.
Berger credited county administration and department heads with earlier successes at reducing initial projections. He said administration has trimmed earlier larger projections and brought forward budgets without a tax increase in past cycles.
Berger said the board has put guidelines in place tied to capital improvement plans to smooth future expenses and help long-term savings. The guidelines, he said, create a schedule for future expenses and have helped the budget process by pacing capital work over time.
If residents missed the session, Berger said the full meeting is available on the Rockingham County YouTube page via a link on the county website. "Our next meeting is scheduled for February at 06:30," he added.
