FROM STAFF REPORTS
Iredell County has received a clean audit of its most recent financial statements.
Cassie Wilson, a CPA with Martin Starnes & Associates, presented the findings of the firm’s audit of the county’s June 30, 2024, financial statements during Tuesday’s Iredell County Board of Commissioners meeting.
Among the highlights:
♦ The county’s ad valorem revenues increased from $158 million in 2022-2023 to $206 million in 2023-2024.
♦ Including debt service, 45 percent of the county budget for fiscal year 2023-2024 was allocated for education (Iredell-Statesville Schools, Mooresville Graded Schools and Mitchell Community College).
♦ Other major allocations were for public safety (25 percent) and human services (15 percent).
♦ In 2023-2024, education funding increased to $92.2 million, public safety funding to $66 million and human services funding to $38 million.
♦ The county has $82 million in its unassigned fund balance.
County Manager Beth Milton expressed her appreciation for the time and effort the county’s Finance Department put into the audit process.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business:
♦ Commissioners approved a $525,000 ad-on to the county’s Axon ALPR (Automated License Plate Reader) Agreement for the current in-car camera system utilized by the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office.
♦ Following a public hearing, the board approved a request for the closure of Koinonia Lane, a public right-of-way located off Robinson Road in Mooresville.
♦ Commissioners heard a presentation from representatives of CPL about plans for an analysis of the county judicial system’s space needs. A final report is due in May of 2025.
County officials have said that expanding the courthouse and adding an additional Superior Court judge would speed up the judicial process, which would theoretically reduce the population of the Iredell County Detention Center.
“We certainly don’t want to be looking at building another jail addition,” Milton said.
♦ Board members set the record straight after being criticized by opponents of a proposed 400-acre industrial development near Mooresville.
After neighbors of the project complained during the public comment period that county commissioners had allowed the property to be annexed by the Town of Mooresville, board members advised that they had no role in the project other than offering tax incentives.
In North Carolina, a property owner can ask for their property to be voluntarily annexed by a nearby municipality. If the city or town approves the request, there is nothing the county commissioners can do to stop it, board members said.
“We have zero ability to stop annexation if a property owner requests it,” Commissioner Brad Stroud said. “That’s frustrating and it’s scary.”
Jerry Starr and other opponents of the project said they were counting on the Board of Commissioners to look out for them.
“The Town of Mooresville doesn’t care what any of these people have to say,” Starr said. “None of them live in the town.”
Iredell County’s 2045 Horizon Plan, which county commissioners use to guide their land-use decisions, calls for the property to be maintained as rural-residential.
To date, the Town of Mooresville has not approved a rezoning request or a request for annexation for the site.
Commissioner Scottie Brown applauded the group of residents for standing up for what they believe is right. He advised that they redirect their energy toward the Mooresville Town Board of Commissioners.
“Keep going to meetings,” Brown said. “Raise holy cane. It doesn’t hurt.”
♦ Commissioner Stroud also pushed back against ongoing allegations by the local Babe Ruth Baseball League that the Board of Commissioners had reneged on a promise to allow the league to use the ballfields at the new Jennings Park for free when the park opens.
In November 2015, the North Piedmont Babe Ruth League donated 19.65 acres for the $34 million park.
“We wouldn’t give you property worth $281,000 if we couldn’t play on it … That would be insane,” Tim Pope told the board during Tuesday’s public comment period.
Stroud, however, said that county officials had found no evidence that such a promise to use the fields for free had ever been made.
A large contingent of parents criticized the board during its November meeting for its plans to charge the organization to use the fields. The cost will be about $10 per hour for day games and $20 per hour for night games.
“This board has been villainized,” Stroud said.
Maintaining the park will cost money and it makes sense that the people who use the park help pay for that, the commissioner said. Charging user fees will help the county maintain its low tax rate, he said.
“Free means somebody else has to pay for it,” Stroud said.
Jennings Park, located off Dietz Road in northern Iredell County, is scheduled to open in 2025.