Caldwell County adopts FY2024–25 budget, keeps tax rate steady and approves elected officials’ salaries

Caldwell County Commissioners unanimously approved the FY2024–25 budget on Sept. 10 and adopted a proposed no-new-revenue tax rate of 0.4391 during a recorded roll-call vote.

The court accepted several last-minute adjustments presented by county staff. Changes included increasing transportation for a magistrate/judge position, creating a $5,000 expense line for evacuation-shelter signage, adding $50,000 for courthouse master-plan improvements, allocating $30,000 for district-clerk binding, and adding one full-time and one part-time position in the tax office. Public-safety payroll changes included a 13% increase for patrol deputies and supervisory ranks, an 8% pay increase for jailers, and a raise in the constable’s salary to $45,000.

County Auditor Danny (first noted during the budget discussion) told the court the proposed tax rate represents no new revenue and was the product of prior public hearings. Commissioner Westmoreland moved to adopt the no-new-revenue rate; the court voted unanimously to approve it.

Commissioners also approved the item to set elected-official salaries for FY2024–25; the judge conducted a roll-call vote in which each commissioner recorded an “Aye.”

The budget-adoption motion was made by Commissioner Horne and seconded by Commissioner Theriault before the unanimous roll-call approval. After the vote, the judge noted the court will monitor the budget performance over the coming year.

The budget includes both one-time project funds and recurring personnel increases. Staff said the $50,000 courthouse master-plan money will support design and planning work to guide future restoration and improvement. The court approved the budget following staff clarifications and the roll-call vote.

Next steps: the county will implement the approved expenditures in the FY2024–25 fiscal year and staff indicated line-item monitoring will continue to ensure adequacy through year-end.