County Manager Hudson recommended a proposed 6¢ increase in the county property tax rate to cover near-term needs including school operating funds, sheriff vehicle and ambulance replacements and county building repairs, and urged commissioners to consider a sales-tax referendum to help shoulder long-term school and capital costs.

Hudson said the 6¢ package includes 2¢ for public education current expense, 1¢ to a county capital reserve, a half-cent for Sampson Community College ongoing maintenance and the remainder to support public safety vehicle replacements. “I didn’t propose 6¢ lightly,” Hudson said, adding the figure was chosen to address several discrete needs rather than as a round number.

Why it matters: Hudson told the board the county is balancing competing options—cuts, a tax increase and use of fund balance—and currently estimates a fund balance of about $2,627,000 on July 1. The manager said some operating savings will be realized from positions that remain vacant but warned the amount is uncertain.

Key details:
- The proposed 6¢ breakdown identified in the budget materials: 2¢ for school current expense; 1¢ to county capital reserve; 0.5¢ to Sampson Community College for ongoing maintenance; the remainder toward ambulances, sheriff patrol vehicles and county building capital needs including roofs and HVAC systems.
- Hudson said replacing ambulances can take roughly 18 months; the county is seeking a demo model to avoid the wait for at least one ambulance.
- Each penny of the tax rate was presented as equivalent to about $704,000 in recurring revenue; the manager estimated roughly $600,000 of new growth revenue might be available without a rate increase.

Sales tax referral: Hudson explained a local sales tax (Article 46-style local option) could generate roughly $3.8 million at a half-cent rate and suggested the board consider pairing or sequencing a sales-tax referendum with any property tax action. He warned that if the county adopted a full 6¢ and then voters rejected a later sales tax, the county might be forced to return to property-tax increases the following year.

Board schedule and next steps: Commissioners agreed on this calendar for the budget decision:
- Public hearing: Monday at 6 p.m. (public hearing on the proposed budget)
- Direction session: Wednesday at 1 p.m. (reconvene to give staff direction)
- Final vote / adoption: Friday at 10 a.m. in the commissioners’ conference room
The manager and finance staff said there is no legal deadline before June 30, but the board preferred to listen to the public Monday and allow the comments to “marinate” before finalizing the budget.

What commissioners said: Commissioners repeatedly said they want transparency for residents and singled out items they view as least-cuttable—school funding, ambulances and patrol cars, and community-college maintenance. Several commissioners said they prefer not to raise property taxes two years in a row and expressed interest in pairing a sales-tax referendum with any property-tax movement.

Context and constraints: The presentation emphasized that some cost pressures (school requests, building maintenance, vehicle replacement lead times) are not discretionary and that the budget reflects prior reductions in training and COLA. The manager suggested developing a written resolution or guidance about the board’s intentions for the next fiscal year to give the incoming county manager direction going into FY 2027.

Ending: The board did not adopt a final budget on-site and directed staff to post the public hearing and follow the agreed schedule, with a goal of returning with a formal budget ordinance after the Wednesday direction session.