Granville County manager presents no-tax-increase $93M budget, prioritizing pay raises and capital

Granville County’s manager presented the recommended fiscal year 2026–27 budget at the May 4 meeting, describing a plan the county calls a “no tax rate increase” budget that aims to implement a multi-year pay and classification study, fund capital projects, and maintain county services without raising the county tax rate.

The recommended operating budget (presented as roughly $93 million) keeps the property tax rate and fire tax rate unchanged and includes a mix of strategies: targeted pay adjustments to align with market rates, moderate operational increases to meet statutory obligations, and use of unassigned fund balance to implement some pay changes beginning July 1. The manager said the budget funds pay increases for many positions and keeps recurring personnel costs manageable by budget assumptions such as budgeting at 95% of full staffing to allow for turnover.

The proposal also continues robust capital funding for schools and other county facilities, maintains a $400,000 annual allocation for Vance‑Granville Community College obligations, and anticipates roughly $3.25 million in annual capital for building maintenance while setting aside funds to pay down debt service related to the school financing described earlier. The manager noted an expected 6% increase in health care costs and recommended several fee changes (solid waste, inspection fees) and modest increases for some outside agencies while declining one-time requests that lacked clear buy‑forward funding.

Staff outlined the budget calendar with work sessions scheduled for May 11 and 13 and a public hearing May 18; adoption is targeted for June 1 if schedule permits. The manager emphasized the need to balance reserves — keeping a healthy unassigned fund balance to preserve favorable borrowing conditions and to respond to disasters — while using some of the excess fund balance to implement pay and capital priorities now.