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Martin County adopts FY 2019-20 budget with 2-cent tax increase and targeted staff raises
Summary
The Martin County Board of Commissioners unanimously adopted a FY 2019-20 budget that raises the property tax rate two cents to $0.81, funds a 2% cost-of-living adjustment for employees and uses a planned draw from county savings and the Hospital Fund to cover capital and program needs.
The Martin County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously June 12 to adopt the county’s FY 2019–20 budget, approving a package that increases the property tax rate by two cents (from $0.79 to $0.81 per $100 valuation), funds a 2% cost-of-living adjustment for employees and uses planned fund-balance and hospital-fund transfers to balance operations and capital needs.
County Manager David Bone told the Board that the budget’s priorities were maintaining current services, absorbing higher employee benefit costs and minimizing the tax increase. The proposed levy is built around an expected $7 million loss in taxable value, an assumed 2% uptick in sales-tax revenue and roughly $160,000 set aside for a 2% cost-of-living increase; the budget does not include a merit-pay pool.
The budget creates or expands a small number of positions: one new position in Social Services (with about a 50% federal match), one new position in Adult and Aging Services (cost shared with the Council on Aging), conversion of two difficult-to-fill part-time transit posts into a single full-time transit position, and the creation of an Economic Development Director position under a new contracting arrangement with the Martin County Economic Development Corporation.
Funding for local partners and programs was mostly held at current levels. The Board of Education requested $6,110,255 for current expenses; the county included an additional $94,000 for schools in the recommended budget but did not grant the full requested increase in capital outlay. Martin Community College was funded at the prior year total of $1,089,054. The Bertie–Martin Regional Jail allocation was maintained at $1,346,486, and youth detention was funded at $70,000. A new $10,000 line item for a Drug Recovery Court was included.
The budget relies on planned appropriations from savings: the recommended budget included a $1,270,777 fund-balance appropriation and $1,566,667 from the Hospital Fund, of which $1 million is earmarked for the Career Technical Center. Manager Bone warned that continued reliance on savings was not sustainable given demographic declines and outstanding debt pressures in Martin County’s water districts, which owed significant amounts to the General Fund at the end of FY 2018.
During the public hearing, resident Chuck Whitford criticized the Board of Education and urged the commissioners to press for changes; no board action on school governance followed. Chairman Tommy Bowen noted the county’s strong fund balance and said the county was “blessed with the fund balance in the event of an emergency.”
Commissioner Ronnie Smith moved to adopt the budget ordinance; Commissioner Elmo “Butch” Lilley seconded the motion, and the Board approved the ordinance unanimously. The Board also approved a sequence of related budget amendments at the meeting to reflect grant awards and project adjustments. The next regular meeting was scheduled for July 10, 2019.
