Halifax County’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year is set. Now County Manager Tony Brown says the next step is to follow a mandate by commissioners to prevent using fund balance in the following fiscal year.
One of the things commissioners stressed at its meeting last week was to find ways to make the county run more efficient.
“We’re still in the early phases,” Brown said today. “There are a variety of ways to do this. The most important thing is to decide whether we want to do this internally or externally.”
Brown said internal methods include suggestions boxes and others which have not been determined. “We’re going to try to get it implemented this summer.”
The budget, in which $2 million was pulled from the fund balance, left county commissioners last week questioning what they would face in the 2011-2012 fiscal year.
Commissioners opted in April to take $2.072 million from its fund balance to save cutting jobs and hours.
The move saves 23 full time employees from having their hours cut, two full time positions from being cut and two part time positions from being cut.
The move also gives the county a draft financial plan for the next fiscal year in the low $30 million range which is balanced. The tax rate remains unchanged at 68 cents per $100 of valuation.
The move, however, leaves several requests slashed. The Choanoke Area Development Association will see its request cut 10 percent, the Lake Gaston Weed Control Council will only get $50,000 and no money was budgeted for the Roanoke Rapids Main Street program.
The county already adopted some savings measures this fiscal year. The county is saving up to 70 percent in costs by requiring employees to use county vehicles if available for travel. It also combined Human Resources, Aging and Veterans into Human Resources Management.
Driving the lean budget are sales taxes which are down by 28 percent and a 78 percent reduction in interest earned accounts along with a poor economy.
Other highlights of the budget include:
• Property tax collections have been consistent
• Current year 1.4 percent reductions in total budget
• Schools got cut by 3 percent as well for the current year, including HCC
• The tax collection rate is between 95 percent to 96 percent.
