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Caldwell County adopts $124 million FY2024–25 budget amid debate over reliance on revaluation revenue
Summary
The Caldwell County Board of Commissioners adopted the FY2024–25 budget on June 10 by a 4–1 vote. The package keeps the property tax rate steady, increases spending on public safety and human services, accounts for Medicaid expansion staffing, and acknowledges potential use of fund balance.
The Caldwell County Board of Commissioners voted 4–1 on June 10 to adopt the fiscal year 2024–25 budget ordinance, approving a plan that county staff said totals just under $124 million and keeps the property tax rate unchanged.
County staff presented a multi‑fund budget that officials said preserves pay increases for employees, expands veteran services, and adds investments in public safety including replacement patrol vehicles, upgrades to a SWAT robot, and ongoing costs for the county's Flock camera deployment. Staff highlighted Medicaid expansion as a near‑term driver of human‑services workload: since December the county reported 2,919 additional Medicaid enrollees and told commissioners expansion funding rose from $175,000 last year to $263,000 this year to help add staff.
The manager’s presentation summarized department and capital priorities — including water‑system projects, a SCADA upgrade, airport hangar infrastructure and emergency‑operations center planning — and framed salaries and benefits as the primary long‑term cost pressure. Staff said ambulance remounts are planned because lead times for new ambulances now average 36 months.
Debate at the dais focused on whether the county is relying too heavily on tax base growth from periodic revaluations to balance the budget. Commissioners asked whether fund balance would be tapped; county finance staff said the budget might use fund balance in the range of $1 million under certain assumptions and noted the county’s fund balance has been about 20 percent in recent years but could fluctuate when books are closed.
Fire districts and volunteer department leaders urged continued support for emergency services during public comment. Kings Creek Fire Department President Steven Watson told the board, “Volunteers are pretty much a thing of the past,” and described a plan to move to more paid 24‑hour staffing; Valmead and Sawmills representatives detailed rising costs for turnout gear, vehicles and staffing and said modest fire‑tax increases in some districts underlie their requests.
Commissioners approved the budget ordinance by voice vote with a recorded 4–1 result. The commission also adopted the FY2024–25 fee schedule by resolution as part of the package. The board directed county staff and department heads to continue searching for efficiency savings before next year’s budget cycle.
