By Miles Layton

PLYMOUTH — Washington County commissioners on Monday heard a recommended fiscal year 2027 budget that would hold the property tax rate steady while raising water rates, slowing employee pay progression and funding a new batch of law enforcement equipment through a five-year financing arrangement — all as the county works to slow a decline in its general fund balance. More about this meeting will appear within the next edition of the Roanoke Beacon.

Remember, this is budget season, so we will be paying close attention to tax and spending matters across Northeast NC.

For now, here’s what I can tell you about Washington County’s proposed budget.

County Manager Curtis Potter called it “an exceptionally challenging budget year,” noting the county allocated roughly $2.9 million in fund balance during the current fiscal year and the recommended FY27 budget would draw down an additional $1.9 million.

“We also knew that fund balance was going to begin returning back down to lower percentages, and we saw that illustrated clearly in the graphic that was in our audit presentation earlier this year,” Potter told the board. “And we anticipate that that trend will continue.”

The recommended tax rate remains unchanged, with Potter noting the county is approaching a revaluation and hoping to hold the line until new property values are established. The tax base did grow, he said, producing an additional $235,000 in revenue at the current rate — money that will flow to volunteer fire departments and EMS.

EMS is slated to receive 4.5 cents on the tax rate, up from four cents, reflecting what Potter described as a declining fund balance within the service.

“We have had to put about $400,00 a year into it, and this year we’re bumped up to $460,000,” he said.

Water customers will see a $3 monthly increase to the base rate and a $1 per thousand-gallon increase to the variable rate, based on a recently completed rate study. Solid waste user fees will remain at $380 per year.

The mileage reimbursement rate for county employees and contractors is recommended to increase from 50 cents per mile to 70 cents. Potter said the current rate has created friction in recruiting. “I also encountered my first contract earlier this year where somebody refused to sign based on our mileage reimbursement,” he said.

The budget proposes slowing the county’s years-of-relevant-experience pay progression. The lowest-tier step increase would drop from 2.5 percent to 2 percent, and upper-tier annual increases would fall from 1.25 percent to 1 percent. Potter said the change is needed to conserve fund balance, though it would be applied across the board.

Grade modifications — reclassifications that increase pay ranges — are recommended for all detention staff and all EMS employees below the director and deputy director level. A 2.5 percent cost-of-living adjustment is also included countywide.

New positions recommended in the budget include a full-time HR clerk in the finance office, a full-time telecommunicator for the 911 center, and a half-year overlap period for a new elections director to train alongside the current director before her anticipated retirement. A full-time communications position is also proposed to allow the communications director to work more of a management schedule rather than filling a shift role.

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