County budget passes
By Steve Herring
Published in News on June 17, 2015 1:46 PM
Full Size
News-Argus/STEVE HERRING
Wayne County Commissioner Joe Daughtery listens as his fellow board members debate his proposal to cut county funding for several nonprofits. He later withdrew the motion.
Wayne County commissioners Tuesday unanimously adopted a new $177,854,151 budget, but not before attempting another round of penny-pinching that would have trimmed less than $20,000 from the spending plan.
The new budget reduces the property tax rate from 66.65 cents to 66.5 cents per $100 of property value.
The approval comes just two weeks after commissioners spent several hours combing through the budget to make cuts.
Chairman Wayne Aycock suggested that another 2.5 percent be cut from the budget requests submitted by outside agencies -- mostly area nonprofits.
The cuts would have ranged from $20 from the $800 for the Mount Olive Area Chamber of Commerce, to $4,250 from the $170,000 for the WISH (Wayne Initiative For School Health) program.
Aycock said he didn't want to put his idea in the form of a motion, but just wanted to put it out for commissioners to think about.
"We asked all of our department heads to cut their budgets 2.5 percent," Aycock said. "I think all of them did, except maybe a couple that were in a position they could not because everything they do is mandated by the state or federal government.
"If we asked our department heads to cut 2.5 percent, why haven't we asked everybody else to cut 2.5 percent? I just got to thinking about that over the weekend. Why shouldn't it be across the board?"
Aycock said he was not talking about going back and cutting departments where adjustments already have been made.
Commissioner Ed Cromartie asked Aycock if he had specifics in mind.
County Manager George Wood said what was left were the outside agencies that are mostly nonprofits.
Aycock said the 2.5 percent would result in $26,269.40 in additional savings.
Commissioner Joe Daughtery suggested that that WATCH (Wayne Action Teams for Community Health) be excluded since that funding issue had already been resolved.
"I don't have a problem with what you are suggesting here," Commissioner Ray Mayo said. "I am wondering though if this should not have been a part of the interview process for these nonprofits.
"I am thinking that your idea is a good one, but maybe it is something we need to make sure we get in next year's budget."
Aycock said that was why he did not put the idea in the form of a motion.
"I think it is a good idea," Mayo said. "I suggest we make sure it is put in next year's budget that everybody is included."
Aycock said he could "live with that."
"Mr. Chairman, your point is well taken," Daughtery said. "That is what we asked all of our department heads to do -- go and reduce their budget by 2.5 percent. Even though it has not been asked during the budget process, it is still a valid point and that is we should be reducing our expenditures in these (nonprofit) expenditures by 2.5 percent.
"What we are basically saying is that they need to find 2.5 percent elsewhere or reduce their overall expenditures. That is what we asked our department heads."
Wood reminded commissioners that some of the items on Aycock's list would need to be taken off the table.
For example, the county has a written agreement with Mount Olive to provide $33,281 for the town airport, he said.
The 2.5 percent would reduce the amount to $32,448.98.
Aycock said that cut would be "back on the table" for 2016-17.
Also, the county has an agreement with Goldsboro to provide $150,000 for Friends of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Wood said.
A 2.5 percent cut would have reduced the total to $146,250.
Commissioner John Bell said he supported the budget as amended earlier and that the board could address the additional cuts in the following budget.
"Every county department knew well in advance that they were asked to reduce their budget by 2.5 percent," Mayo said. "I think we should give the same courtesy to these outside agencies. We don't have to, but I think it is just a good common courtesy."
Daughtery then made a motion to cut most of the outside agencies by 2.5 percent.
However, he singled out Literacy Connections to be sliced from $101,232 to $85,000 while returning $35,000 to the budget for body cameras for the Wayne County Sheriff's Office that had been cut out during earlier budget negotiations.
"Mr. Chairman, we would not be going in that direction to cut those (nonprofits) as some motivation to put the cameras back in," Cromartie said. "OK, just cut off my right leg and leave the left one.
"Secondly, I would prevail upon my colleagues to let's go with the idea that we put it (2.5 percent) on the table. We talked about it. We looked at it, and we will do this next year."
Cromartie called cutting the small amount a "knee-jerk reaction."
Mayo then offered an amendment to Daughtery's motion that no action be taken and to revisit the idea for the next budget year so that the agencies would get the notice commissioners had talked about.
Daughtery said he could see the board was not ready to address the issue as a whole and withdrew his motion.
Aycock asked if Mayo would withdraw his motion.
"I can do that," Mayo said.
Wood reminded commissioners they normally have a budget retreat in December or January.
He suggested that is when commissioners provide instructions on what they want to do when he starts work on the 2016-17 budget.