On a 4-1 vote, the Amherst County Board of Supervisors adopted the county’s 2018-19 $43.7 million budget, a $2.6 million increase from the current fiscal year, last Tuesday.
The budget includes a 2 percent pay raise for county employees while school employees will receive a 1 percent pay hike, which takes effect July 1. Tax rates will remain the same and the county is set to receive a revenue boost of $1.2 million, or 15 percent, due to increased business equipment being invested within the county, according to County Administrator Dean Rodgers’ budget presentation.
Supervisor David Pugh, who voted against passing the budget, said his opposition is based on the county’s spending $2 million of an unobligated fund balance, or savings that has accumulated from unspent monies in past budgets.
The unobligated fund gives the county flexibility to take fiscal measures as unforeseen situations arise, Pugh said. For example, the county can use it to buy a necessary piece of equipment without having to accrue debt.
In 2013 the unobligated fund was at $16 million, it was at $14.8 million last year and as of March it is at $12.9 million, according to Pugh. He is concerned with the fund dwindling further, he said.
“The county is spending money out of the unobligated reserve at an accelerated pace,” Pugh said. “We as a county have been very conservative and accumulated this savings for unforeseen uses, catastrophes and possible business opportunities.
But as we continue to deplete our resources, the county will not have the flexibility to do such things …”
Pugh said he doesn’t want to see the spending pattern lead to having to raise taxes in the near future. He said he was in agreement with the county’s contribution to schools, but felt some items in the capital improvement plan and supplemental spending was not necessary.
The county is spending $13.9 million in the local contribution to Amherst County Public Schools, a $252,000 decrease, and agreed to set aside $200,000 in the capital improvement plan for the purchase of two school buses. The bus purchase allowed the school system to use the $200,000 into its operations.
The CIP of nearly $1.4 million has $200,000 for self-contained breathing apparatus for public safety spending, along with $600,000 combined in vehicles for the Pedlar and Monelison fire departments. It also has $285,000 for needed equipment for the public works department, $75,000 for a trail extension project for Riveredge Park in Madison Heights and $95,000 for heating and cooling needs at the county administration building.
The budget also includes a one-time expenditure of $36,206 to restore deed index books for the Clerk of Circuit Court office, records which go back to the 18th century. The records in the county’s courthouse are deteriorating and need salvaging, Rodgers said at a Feb. 6 budget work session.
“This is our history, and we’re very fortunate to have that history,” Chairwoman Claudia Tucker said of the line item during the Feb. 6 session.
Rodgers’ written budget presentation states many items to help the county meet its strategic goals, including 11 full-time positions, new playground equipment for the Coolwell Recreation Center, and software needed across multiple departments, were not included in the budget. Staff will present many of those items to supervisors if year-end, unspent money can be found, according to Rodgers.
Rodgers’ presentation states the county has seen a steady decline in new businesses starting up within the county and economic development is his main focus.
“While the economy in Amherst County appears to be stable, we are challenged to be ever mindful of those throughout our community that may be facing economic hardships or are of lesser means. The burden of taxes and fees is a constant factor in evaluating budget priorities,” Rodgers wrote in the budget presentation. “If businesses can prosper in Amherst County, our tax revenues will grow and the tax burden on individual property owners will not have to be increased.”
Tucker lauded the lack of tax increases and said she feels the budget shows a commitment to county employees and public education.
“No department gets everything that they want but I feel very comfortable with what we’ve done,” Tucker said.
She said by partnering with the Amherst County Economic Development Authority the county is committed to make Amherst County a place where businesses and families wish to locate.
“None of those things happen quickly, but they do happen with the commitment from the board of supervisors to not only have the right philosophy in place but to also fund that.”