Gaston County adopts FY2025 budget with targeted changes and approves 11.5¢ fire tax after staffing warnings

Gaston County commissioners voted to adopt the FY2025 budget on May 22, approving a package of one-time appropriations while directing the county manager to place 30% of the sheriff's FY2025 budget into a controlled hold account pending further review. The board also adopted a resolution setting the county's FY2025 fire-protection tax rate for contract districts at roughly 11.5¢ after hearing urgent testimony from volunteer chiefs and the county's fire commission.

The budget motion, made on the floor by a commissioner and carried 6-1, included three stated adjustments to the manager's recommended plan: restoring the sheriff's part-time salary funding to FY2024/FY2025 requested levels, appropriating $1,300,000 from the county's self-insurance fund to implement a telehealth/prescription/hospitalization savings program for current and retired employees on the county health plan, and appropriating $2,100,000 from the capital improvement fund balance for Chromebook placements requested by Gaston County Schools. Commissioners described those as one-time appropriations that would not change the recurring tax posture.

Why it matters: The fire-tax decision and the budget's shifts respond directly to repeated testimony about staffing and response reliability in the county's contract…