FROM STAFF REPORTS
County Manager Beth Mull has presented a proposed $321.8 million general fund budget for fiscal year 2024-2025 to the Iredell County Board of Commissioners.
The spending plan, which calls for maintaining the property tax rate at 50 cents per $100 valuation, includes funding for 53 new full-time county employees and a 3 percent pay raise for existing employees. The budget proposes boosting current expense funding for Iredell-Statesville Schools, the Mooresville Graded School District and Mitchell Community College by a total of $2.1 million.
“This budget continues the trend of striking a delicate balance between growth and demand for more services while maintaining our conservative, fiscally responsible approach to local government,” Mull explained in her budget message to commissioners.
The Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing on the budget at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, June 4, before approving the budget.
The proposed budget reduces general fund spending by $1,805,800, or 0.56 percent. This is a result of an anticipated cut in state sales tax receipts and a reduction in appropriated fund balance.
The spending plan is based on a tax base of $42.2 billion with a collection rate of 99.1 percent. The county will begin the next fiscal year with an estimated $99.2 million in the unassigned fund balance, or savings.
Iredell is the 14th largest county in North Carolina and has the state’s 21st lowest property tax rate.
Growth
Mull explained in her budget message that the influx of new residents — Iredell is the sixth fastest growing county in the State of North Carolina, which is the second-fastest growing state in the nation with inward migration. From 2023 to 2024, Iredell experienced a 1.93 increase in population, continuing a decade-long trend.
From 2020 to 2024, Iredell’s population has increased from 187,694 people to 202,512.
That growth has translated to double-digit increases in service demands for EMS (11.8 percent), ECOM (25.4 percent), and Animal Services (13.9 percent). The numbers pale in comparison to what DSS has experienced: a 184 percent increase in Family and Children Medicaid applications and a 37.5 percent increase in Food and Nutrition Service applications.
“We are struggling to keep up with this sharp increase in the demand for county provided services, which is why this budget includes recommendations for additional staffing in several departments,” Mull explained.
New Positions
In order to meet the increasing demand for county services across all departments, Mull is requesting funding for 53 new full-time positions, including two current part-time positions transitioning to full-time, and four new part-time positions. Twenty of the new full-time positions will be filled in January, reducing the impact on the budget in fiscal year 2024-2025.
Among the new positions in the budget are 13 for the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office, including eight for the jail; 16 for Emergency Medical Services and 17 for the Department of Social Services.
County department heads requested funding for a total 76 new full-time and four new part-time new positions. That total was pared down by senior staff during the budget-making process.
Pay Increases
This budget includes a 3 percent pay scale adjustment for existing and new county employees for all positions. The plan also sets aside funds to implement the results of the a pay study in January of 2025.
Education Funding
The proposed budget includes ta total of $74.1 million in current expense funding for I-SS, MGSD and Mitchell Community College. Per pupil funding would increase by 2.9 percent, from $2,223 to $2,287.
The spending plans also includes $15.3 million in capital outlay for I-SS, MGSD and Mitchell.
The total increase in educational funding is 4.5 percent, which includes current expense, capital outlay and debt service.
Capital Investment Plan
The total recommended budget for capital improvements is $22,387,845, which represents a nearly 50 percent reduction from the current budget.
Among the expenditures are:
♦ Money set aside for new new voting equipment for the Elections Department;
♦ Matching funds for approved projects at the Statesville Regional Airport;
♦ Addition of more kennel, surgical, adoption and intake space, at Iredell Animal Control;
♦ Funding for a new voice dispatch system and replacement of the backup system for ECOM;
♦ Money to pay for the completion of the carpet replacement with LVT tile on the second and third floors at Building Standards;
♦ Funds for a generator replacement at the Health Department, roof replacement at the Library; additional funds toward the multi-year Regional Event Center at the current fairgrounds; and
♦ Setting aside funds to implement the Facility Needs Study.