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The 2006-07 Davidson County proposed budget has nearly run its legislative course, going before the county commission Tuesday night for a public hearing with little opposition. The budget will come up for vote in two weeks at the June 27 commission meeting.
“We give all of the information time to come in, and look at everything we thing needs to be looked at,” County Commission Chairman Fred McClure said.
The June 27 vote is meant to meet state requirements that the budget be certified by July 1.
Highlighting this year’s $111 million budget is the recommendation for no increase to the current property tax rate of 54 cents per $100 of valuation, or $54 for a $100,000 home.
However, it’s a figure that community advocate Barney Hill thinks is still too high, and he came to Tuesday’s hearing with a list of suggestions for lowering that figure and other parts of the budget, as he did a week ago at a forum for the city of Thomasville’s proposed budget.
Hill’s recommendations included abolishing the planning, recreation, senior services, veterans service, fire marshal, and tourism departments, which by his estimates would save the county $2 million.
Other suggestions included repealing bond orders, tinkering with the Sheriff’s Office and school budgets.
Those recommendations, along with others he suggested would save the county $42.5 million, and allow the property owners to have a new 10-cent tax rate.
Hill was the only person who spoke in opposition to the budget.
Meanwhile, Mark Breeden and Jim Hudson spoke on behalf of Davidson Vision to thank commissioners for their proposed continued support of the organization in the amount of $100,000 for next year.
The organization devotes the money toward economic development, academic achievement, work force development, among other initiatives.
A budget workshop held earlier this month added several new items to the budget, giving additional appropriation to the fund balance of $38,126.
Of the new items, three account for the appropriation change.
An addition to Public Assistance Adoption Program to aid in the adoption of special-needs children from the Department of Social Services accounts for the bulk of the increase at $30,000. Two requests come from Cooperative Extension for signs for agricultural districts ($3,500), and a difference between the 3 percent salary increase budgeted and the 5 percent on the proposed state budget ($4,626) make up a small amount of the new fund.
Additions that had no impact on the fund balance included errors in the transportation budget and Badin Lake Fire Department tax rate. An Immigration and Naturalization Service certification program for the Sheriff’s Office (paid out of a grant) and the addition of two new part-time positions at Lake Thom-a-Lex (paid from the existing Recreation Department budget), also account for no change to fund balance.
Overall, the new fund balance with revisions is set at a little more than $2.2 million.
Staff Writer Ryan Seals can be reached at 472-9500, ext. 231, or at ryan.d.seals@gmail.com.