May 17, 2005
Board of Commissioners
Cleveland County
North Carolina
Commissioners:
North Carolina General Statute 159-11 (b) requires the County Manager to submit a budget, with a budget message, to the Governing Board no later than June 1. General Statute 159-12 requires the Manager, as the Budget Officer, to file a copy in the office of the Clerk to the Board, where it shall remain available for public inspection until the Budget Ordinance is adopted. General Statute 159-13 requires that no earlier than ten days after the day the budget is presented to the Board, and no later than July 1, the Board shall adopt a Budget Ordinance making appropriations and levying taxes for the budget year in such sums as the Board may consider sufficient and proper, whether greater or less than the sums recommended in the budget.
Revenues
The projected tax base for fiscal year 2005/2006 is $5,770,000,000. This is a projected increase of $120,000,000 in value, which translates into $668,160 in new revenue at a 58¢ tax rate and a 96% collection rate. We estimate sales tax revenues to increase by $350,000 as the statewide economy continues to slowly gain momentum. Fees for service are up by $125,000 in Emergency Medical Services and $90,000 in the Sheriff’s Department. All other local revenue sources combined are up a net of $9,465 for a total net increase in revenues of $1,242,625 in county general fund revenue, (not inclusive of new library revenue sources). This is an increase of 2.43%, which is a little less than the estimated rate of inflation. We are hopeful that the local economy will grow at a faster pace than inflation in future years.
Expenditures
With public assistance programs absorbing over $413,000 in available new revenues, the remaining appropriations are simply maintaining programs at their existing levels and attempting to keep up with inflationary pressures.
Salaries and Benefits
The recommended budget includes a 2% cost of living allowance for all county employees while maintaining the current pay plan for standard rate increases and merit pay. Also included is a 6% rate adjustment for county employee health insurance. This smaller than average increase in health insurance costs is probably attributable to the successful start-up of our county employee health and wellness center. We anticipate that the health and wellness center will continue to have a positive impact on health insurance rates in the future. We have also allowed for employee mileage reimbursements to rise from 30¢ to 32¢ per mile.
Commissioner Grants
All Commissioner grants in the budget are at the same dollar amounts as last year, and no new grant programs were added. We anticipate very little grant funding for non-governmental agencies in the near future.
Schools
The chart included below shows Cleveland County Schools steady increase in total funding and per pupil funding over the most recent five years. The growth is much more pronounced when you look at a ten-year chart. Cleveland County continues to appropriate more current expense funding per pupil than any of our surrounding counties. The Commissioners have always felt that this is a wise investment in the future.
| Revenue Type | FY 05-06 projected |
FY 04-05 estimate |
FY 03-04 | FY 02-03 | FY 01-02 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland County Schools (as if merged for all years shown) | |||||
| Current Expense | 9,808,213 | 9,808,213 | 9,599,895 | 9,591,540 | 9,507,433 |
| Capital Outlay | 2,000,000 | 2,000,000 | 2,000,000 | 1,000,000 | 2,000,004 |
| Supplemental Tax | 8,625,000 | 8,575,000 | 8,229,246 | 8,069,183 | 7,999,677 |
| Sales Taxes | 3,700,000 | 3,600,000 | 3,561,726 | 3,307,847 | 2,546,597 |
| Fines and Forfeitures | 525,000 | 525,000 | 513,868 | 580,475 | 530,449 |
| Special Capital Projects | 1,100,000 | 866,000 | 866,000 | 666,000 | 0 |
| |
|||||
| Total Funding | 25,758,213 | 25,374,213 | 24,770,735 | 23,215,045 | 22,584,160 |
| Student Population | 17,217 | 17,609 | 17,235 | 17,220 | 17,069 |
| Per Pupil Funding | 1,496.09 | 1,440.98 | 1,437.23 | 1,348.14 | 1,323.11 |
Cleveland Community College
Funding for Cleveland Community College will rise by 3% or $30,878 to 1,060,129. The capital appropriation for the college will remain the same, at $50,000. Cleveland Community College has a major classroom expansion scheduled to begin in the next six months and another campus building in the planning stages.
Law Enforcement
The Sheriff’s office and Detention Center budgets are scheduled to increase by $317,838 collectively. This will allow for one new clerical position in the Sheriff’s Office and eight replacement patrol cars. We have also established an overtime account in the Sheriff’s office to be used in cases where more intense manpower is necessary to properly staff a particular incident. The Sheriff will continue to use forfeiture funds to augment his budget as is reflected by the use of $179,160 in funds that have been returned to his department by the federal government.
Social Services
The cost of public assistance programs continue to rise at an alarming rate. The cost of public assistance programs (such as Medicaid) will increase by $413,622 in next years budget. By contrast, the rest of the budget for the Department of Social Services will increase by $96,220, including the department’s share of one new position who will certify the eligibility for Medicaid transportation services. The North Carolina County Commissioners Association continues to lobby the state legislature very heavily to eliminate county participation in public assistance programs.
Health Department
The recommended budget proposes an increase of $163,222 for the health department. Approximately one third of these additional funds will go toward providing approximately 12,000 square feet of newly renovated additional office space in the old mental health building on Crawford Street. The health department will also receive one new county funded clerical position.
Emergency Medical Services
This department has an increase of $251,527, primarily due to the increased need for part time employees to supplement staffing needs when volunteers are unable to respond. This budget also reflects the first full year of contracted billing and collections, as well as the need for a replacement ambulance and heart monitor.
County Fire Service District
This is the first year of a three year funding plan which was developed by the Fire Chiefs and the County Manager to better address the funding needs of the volunteer fire departments. The fire service district is funded from a 3¢ district tax which is scheduled to remain constant throughout that three year period.
Library
The recommended budget reflects a request by Cleveland Memorial Library Board to become a county department. There are some savings that can be realized if this arrangement can be worked out, but only if the City of Shelby will commit to continuing their same level of funding in the future. Also recommended is a 3% increase in funding to Mauney Memorial Library in Kings Mountain.
General Fund Summary
The total general fund budget shows an increase of $1,242,625 (not including additional library resources) or 2.43%. If you subtract the public assistance increase of $413,622, then the remaining general find expenditures only went up $829,003 or 1.99%.
Tax Rate
The proposed tax rate for Cleveland County will remain at 58¢ per $100 of valuation. The tax rates for the countywide school district and county fire district will remain at 15¢ and 3¢ respectively. A ¾ of 1% early payment discount will continue to be offered for those taxpayers who pay during the month of August.
Summary
This has been a relatively difficult budget to prepare due to a limited amount of revenue, being available to fund an ever growing need for community resources in Cleveland County. I do feel that this recommended budget is a good attempt to adequately respond to the needs of the community while respecting the taxpayer’s ability to pay for public services. I know that the Board of Commissioners shares my hope that the local economy will improve and these budget decisions will become easier in the future.
Respectfully submitted,
David C. Dear
County Manager / Budget Officer
http://www.ccncgov.com/FinanceD/budget/budget06msg.html
last updated May 17, 2005