Carla Peterson addresses the Sampson County Board of Commissioners, urging them not to raise taxes, as Barbara Faison looks on. The two women were the only ones to speak during a public hearing Monday on the budget, which calls for a 5-cent property tax hike.
Budget hearing held; deliberations to follow
A hearing Monday on Sampson County’s proposed 2022-23 budget saw just two people speak to the fiscal plan, which is calling for a a 5-cent property tax hike. The Sampson County Board of Commissioners is now set to deliberate on the budget, setting a meeting for Thursday for further discussion.
The hearing at the County Auditorium took place during the regular monthly meeting. Two signed up to speak, and they were the only ones who offered comment. Barbara Faison of Clinton requested commissioners consider an increase in the sales tax so that the burden would be spread across everyone in Sampson, not just property owners. Carla Peterson, also of Clinton, brought a number of potential cost-saving measures to the board, which she urged to do all in their power to avoid increasing taxes.
County officials said that a declining population has translated into less tax base and lowered anticipated revenues, which combined with inflation and supply chain issues affecting everyone, has necessitated the 5-cent tax hike in the 2022-23 budget in order to maintain services and “avoid history repeating itself.”
The tax rate for the current budget stands at 82.5 cents per $100 valuation, so the proposed increase would bring that rate to 87.5 cents.
“As a retired county employee for over 30 years, I know the challenges the budget causes each year,” said Faison. “I have a problem with the (tax increase) being addressed for only property owners. We have people who come here, who live here, who don’t pay any property taxes and stay here and never pay any property taxes. I personally feel we need to pay for services whether we have property or not. I am proposing that the 5 cents be added as sales tax so that all services enjoyed by everyone who lives in this county will be shared by everyone. Thank you from the bottom of my pocketbook.”
Peterson implored that county officials do whatever they had to do to not raise taxes. She said 26 counties across North Carolina went through revaluation in 2019, to include Sampson County. Only three of them have a higher property tax rate than Sampson, she noted.
“I encourage you to look for other ways to balance the budget,” Peterson stated, asking that alternate revenue streams be explored, current fees and fines be modified and added to, and assets sold as needed. She suggested selling the Sampson County Agri-Exposition Center, eliminating longevity pay for employees and dental insurance. Peterson also recommended postponing a market pay study indefinitely.
She alluded to a comment made by County Manager Ed Causey about redefining government.
“The only other real option is to redefine county government and the services that are provided,” the county manager said in his budget message. “If the board chooses to redefine government by reducing services, it will be challenging to accomplish without closely reviewing the larger departments/groups receiving significant tax support.”
Peterson said she agreed whole-heartedly with that statement from the county manager, saying that it would be beneficial for Causey to “expound” on what he meant, and what could be redefined.
“As he pointed out, Sampson County has lost population. Given this fact, along with the uncertain state of our economy, plus our already-high property tax rate, I believe what we need is a willingness to be creative,” Peterson remarked, noting that median household income in Sampson hovers around $42,000. “We should make no assumption that government programs must stand as they are or how they’ve been in the past.
“Everyone in the county absolutely must be flexible,” she continued. “Raising the property tax now, in my opinion, is not a good idea.”
The board tentatively scheduled two budget sessions, at 10 a.m. on June 9 and June 16, to further deliberate on the budget. Those sessions will take place in the conference room of the County Administration Building.
“We do not believe that we can further significantly reduce projected costs without adversely affecting programs,” Causey previously stated in his budget message. “…We do not need to retreat back to the county’s position of 20 years ago with overwhelming pent‐up needs that degrade our actual financial position. Pent-up needs include both the physical and human infrastructure.”
“If you get by this year without a tax increase, it is unlikely that you can get by next year without one,” Causey stated in that message.
In his budget message, the county manager attested that if the county chooses to defer capital reserve deposits — it has regularly set aside $450,000 annually — “we will revisit the challenges of pent-up needs the county has struggled with for many years and has not completely resolved, and will further exacerbate our cash flow challenges moving forward.”
He highlighted many of those departments whose budgets are growing, notably the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office, whose budget is again proposed to increase.
According to Causey, the total budget for the Sheriff’s Department including the Detention Center is $14,392,653. The combined proposed expenditures for the department have increased $894,333 over the last year. “Last year, we reported that their total expenditures had increased 62% over the last 10 years,” Causey stated in his budget message. It is set to grow by another 6.2% if the proposed budget is approved.
All employees have received a least a 12.1% increase in salary during the past year, Causey said, noting the percentage of increase for many employees is even greater than that. The Board of Commissioners approved an additional 5% pay increase for all employees to take effect this past January. At the same time, the board voted to not consider another COLA or pay increase until after the market study slated to begin in July 2022 is completed.
“This action was taken before a potential 5‐cent tax increase was proposed,” Causey stated. “Likewise, if the BOC has concerns about the cost of full implementation of the proposed market study, it is recommended that this planned study be delayed for one year.”
The number of permanent employees at the time of last year’s budget message was 553. During the year, the Board of Commissioners added six paramedics and one intern for Environmental Health, bringing that number to 560. Additional positions, recommended as part of the proposed 2022-23 budget, would bring that number at the end of the year.
County administrative staff has proposed as part of the 2022-23 budget to: convert the part-time DSS employee to full-time; add one juvenile officer for the Sheriff’s Department; hire four telecommunicators to be employed as of January 2023; and add one Assistant EMS Chief.
The proposed 2022-23 budget is available at sampsonnc.com.
Editor Chris Berendt can be reached at 910-592-8137 ext. 2587.