Bertie County commissioners review $24.95 million proposed budget as forestry urges preservation of coop funding

During a public hearing on the proposed fiscal 2025-26 budget, the Bertie County Board of Commissioners heard a presentation from the county manager and an appeal from a North Carolina Forest Service representative to preserve county coop funding that the agency says is necessary to retain staff and vehicles.

The county manager told the board the recommended general fund budget for fiscal year 2025-26 is $24,950,113 and, as proposed, does not include a fund balance appropriation. The manager said the proposal does not increase the county’s property tax rate of $0.93 per $100 valuation and gave a total valuation projection of $1,550,562,881. The manager said, at a 100% collection rate, each penny of the tax rate would produce $155,056.29, and at a 97.6% collection rate each penny would produce $151,344.94.

The nut graf: the proposed spending package includes about $6 million in special appropriations for recurring items such as schools, community colleges and the regional jail, but the budget as presented carried a $130,071 shortfall the board needed to resolve before adoption.

Key details presented by the county manager included $3,027,671 to Bertie County Schools and $375,000 for Bertie County Schools capital outlay; $59,275 and $31,500 respectively for Martin Community College and its capital outlay; $55,000 to Roanoke-Chowan Community College; and $1,147,006 to the Bertie-Martin Regional Jail. The manager said recommended capital requests included an ambulance and a quick-response vehicle for emergency medical services, plus antivirus software and a website upgrade for information technology. Personnel requests included four EMS employees, a bailiff for courthouse security, and part-time seasonal parks and recreation staff. Since the manager first presented the budget on May 14, the board’s work sessions on May 19, May 22 and June 5 resulted in several line-item changes the manager summarized, including additions and small sponsorship adjustments that increased the overall total by $130,071.

A North Carolina Forest Service representative, appearing at the hearing, described the volume of forestry activity in Bertie County and the agency’s local workload. The representative said the county’s coop share for the coming year would be about $211,000 (the state cost-share portion of a $527,000 program), with roughly $136,000 of that figure covering salary and benefits. The representative warned that if the board did not provide the requested county share, the Forest Service would be forced to eliminate an assistant county ranger position and could delay replacement of worn vehicles: “we really need what we ask for in the budget,” the representative said. The speaker added that of five Forestry trucks in the county, four have more than 100,000 miles and the highest has about 160,000 miles.

Commissioners debated options to close the $130,071 gap. Several commissioners and the county manager discussed trimming line items and other policy changes (vacation buyback, vacancy freezes, overtime management) but said those measures would not fully cover the shortfall in time. One commissioner proposed taking $464,000 from the schools’ allocation to balance the budget; that motion did not receive the support needed. The manager said he had reviewed department positions and could not justify eliminating additional staff without further review.

By consensus the board directed the county manager and staff to make the discussed adjustments and prepare a balanced budget for the board to consider at its regular meeting on Monday, June 16 at 6:00 p.m. The board recessed and scheduled a budget work session for Thursday, June 12 at 1:00 p.m. The meeting then moved into a closed session on a motion by Commissioner Simonis, seconded by Commissioner Michael White, citing North Carolina general statute as the basis for the closed session. The board later emerged from closed session on a motion by Commissioner Robson, seconded by Vice Chair Auger.

What’s next: the manager will return a balanced budget reflecting the board’s consensus for review at the June 16 regular meeting, and the work session on June 12 is intended to finalize outstanding adjustments before adoption.