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Craven County commissioners review FY27 budget, propose $1.23 million from fund balance and $442,130 in outside appropriations
Summary
At a June 1 reconvened budget work session, the Craven County Board of Commissioners reviewed FY27 budget highlights, recommended $1,230,441 in fund-balance appropriations (including $442,130 for external agencies), and placed several items on a 'Be Back' list for more detail and July budget amendments.
The Craven County Board of Commissioners reconvened a budget work session on June 1, 2026, in New Bern to continue review of the proposed FY27 budget. County Manager Jack B. Veit III and staff presented line-by-line highlights, a revised fund-balance analysis and a detailed list of outside agency appropriations.
Staff outlined recommended and board-directed fund-balance appropriations totaling $1,230,441: a recommended appropriation of $648,314 plus Board of Commissioners-directed appropriations of $582,127. The proposed FY2026–2027 General Fund budget was shown as $169,121,047.
The presentation included a schedule of external agency and municipal requests totaling $442,130. Major items on that list included the City of New Bern Skate Park ($150,000), PIE athletics ($55,000), Coastal Center for Hope & Healing ($50,000), and Smart Start ($38,400), along with a series of smaller municipal and nonprofit requests.
Veit asked the board to direct staff on several items on the "Be Back" list. Staff will research a Water Ordinance leak-adjustment policy by reviewing approaches used in other counties and return with a recommended policy for board consideration. Smart Start informed staff it intends to reallocate state grant funds ($40,240) toward teacher bonuses and to use the County appropriation to initialize a program called Kaleidoscope; Veit recommended budgeting and holding the requested $38,400 and meeting with the Smart Start director to outline an agreement.
Staff identified several items that will require budget amendments in July, including projects listed as Highway 70, ACT, C1A, RU252 (Be Back), Hope Mission, and a Water Meter Project. Veit emphasized the importance of timely requests from organizations so staff has adequate time for review prior to final budget approval.
Veit also presented an Updated General Fund Balance Analysis. He said the County’s internal calculation, which includes the Debt Service Fund, shows a fund-balance percentage of 46.97%; he noted the auditor reports a General Fund Balance of 34.79% because the auditor excludes the Debt Service Fund, which is earmarked for school debt service.
