The Daily Southerner, Tarboro, NC

Local News

June 27, 2012

County budget gets OK from commissioners

Editor and Publisher John H. Walker

TARBORO — Members of the Edgecombe County Board of Commissioners gave formal approval to a budget of $58,520,618 that includes no tax increase.

The unanimous vote to approve — with commissioners Viola Harris and Evelyn Powell both absent — came following a public hearing that generated no comment.

County manager Lorenzo Carmon told commissioners the budget met the state mandate of being balanced and their mandate of maintaining the same tax rate in FY 2012-2013 as is currently in place.

Almost 40 percent of the expense budget goes to human services, with $16.2 million for social services and $6.5 million for health.

Next on the list is education, which gets 21.5 percent of the pie. Of that amount, public schools get $9.17 million, Edgecombe Community College gets $1.64 million and $1.8 million goes to the public schools building capital fund.

Public safety accounts for 18.5 percent of the expensed monies, with the sheriff getting $4.28 million and the jail receiving $4.17 million. In addition, rescue units are budgeted to receive $874,000 and emergency services $289,750.

The bulk of the remaining funds — $6.8 million — go to general government operations, which include the commissioners, county manager, elections, finance, data processing, tax administration and collections, public buildings, the register of deeds and central services.

Almost one-third, or $2.2 million, will go to building operations and expenses while nearly $1.3 million will go to tax administration and collections.

In other business, commissioners also:

• Approved a series of budget amendments;

• Approved the FY 2012-2013 Edgecombe County Salary and Classification Plans as required by state law;

• Approved two applications by the Edgecombe County Public Schools to the North Carolina Education Lottery to provide funds to the Public School Building Fund for work at Tarboro High School, Martin Middle School, North Edgecombe, South Edgecombe and Southwest Edgecombe high schools.

Funding from the lottery will be used to pay $400,000 for the reproofing project currently under way at Tarboro High School as well as providing $97,000 to replace carpeting with tile in the classrooms and hallways at the four other schools.

The new budget becomes effective on July 1.

 

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