Wayne County adopts 2025–26 budget at 0.6259 tax rate after dispute over jetport hangar and sheriff funding

The Wayne County Board of Commissioners voted 5–2 on June 3 to adopt the fiscal 2025–26 budget, setting the countywide property tax rate at 0.6259 and approving a package of additions and reallocations that included a teacher supplement, an earlier start date for a deputy pay increase, partial funding for sheriff vehicles and money for a Dudley communications tower while removing a proposed T‑hangar from the Jetport capital plan.

County Manager staff said the manager's original recommended rate had been 0.6209. After changes agreed at a budget workshop and additional line‑item adjustments during the June 3 meeting, the board added $1,318,000 for teacher supplements; restored $900,000 for a fleet shop (to be reimbursed later from debt proceeds); added $500,000 to partially fund the school resource officer program; and recognized about $240,000 in anticipated rental income. The budget reductions and fund‑balance adjustments described by staff — including a $500,840 increase in fund‑balance usage — produced the adopted 0.6259 rate.

The adoption followed a contentious floor debate and several competing amendments. Commissioner Daughtry moved to adopt the manager's recommended budget as revised to the 0.6259 rate. Commissioner Chris Gurley offered an amendment that would remove the county jetport T‑hangar project and reallocate roughly $993,689 to a set of public‑safety priorities: making a 2% pay increase for sheriff deputies effective July 1, 2025 (six months earlier than previously scheduled), funding a communications tower in the Dudley area, and providing partial funding for nine sheriff non‑patrol vehicles. Gurley argued the change would “benefit majority citizens of the Wayne County” by prioritizing emergency services and communications over the hangar project.

A separate proposal to raise the tax rate to 0.63 to keep the T‑hangar in the capital plan failed on the board floor. The board first approved Gurley’s amendment by a 4–3 vote, making that amendment the new substantive motion. The board then adopted the full budget containing Gurley’s changes and the 0.6259 tax rate by a 5–2 vote. The meeting record does not list individual roll‑call names for each vote in the transcript; the board recorded vote tallies only.

Commissioners who opposed the final package raised concerns about raising the tax rate at all and about the long‑term financial performance of enterprise funds such as the Maxwell Center and the Jetport. Supporters of the adopted package pointed to near‑term public‑safety needs and the rising costs and delayed availability of replacement sheriff vehicles.

County staff told commissioners the T‑hangar project had been discussed for years, that the jetport commission had sought county funds, and that the project’s construction pricing had been negotiated through the county development authority to secure favorable terms. Opponents said the projected hangar rents and the expected payback period did not justify using county dollars right now, and several commissioners said they preferred to spend money on vehicles, communications, and deputies’ pay.

The adopted budget takes effect July 1, 2025. Staff and board members said implementation steps — such as ordering vehicles, scheduling tower work and finalizing payroll timing for the pay increase — will follow the board’s action and depend on procurement and vendor lead times.