By Miles Layton

EDENTON — Commission Chairman Bob Kirby didn’t hold back Monday night.

“This is far and away the most difficult and arduous budget process that we’ve all collectively had to endure,” Kirby told his fellow Chowan County commissioners at a special meeting that lasted less than an hour before being recessed. “I believe that what is occurring right now is purely political. It disappoints me greatly.”

The board convened Monday evening to adopt the county’s budget but was forced to pump the brakes when County Manager Kevin Howard revealed that a piece of state legislation moving through the General Assembly in Raleigh could dramatically change the numbers — possibly overnight.

Howard told commissioners he was recommending they approve neither of the two budget resolutions on the table, and instead recess until 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 30, to see how a key Senate vote plays out.

“I am going to recommend we not sign either one of them or approve either one of them,” Howard said.

At the heart of the uncertainty is Senate Bill 474, which emerged from a conference committee Monday and was placed on the Senate calendar for a concurrence vote Tuesday. 

The bill, if passed, would eliminate an exemption Chowan County had secured under Senate Bill 889 — legislation that placed a moratorium on revaluations through 2026. Because of an amendment, Chowan had been shielded from that moratorium, allowing Howard’s office to build the current budget on the county’s updated 2025 property schedule of values, carrying a tax rate of 57.25 cents per $100 of valuation.

Senate Bill 889, signed into law by Gov. Josh Stein on June 19, established the property tax reappraisal moratorium. Senate Bill 474 is a follow-up measure that would modify which counties are covered by that law. Because the House amended SB 474, the bill must still clear the General Assembly before it can be sent to the governor.

Strip that exemption away, Howard explained, and the county must revert to its 2022 schedule of property values — which would force a tax rate increase of two and a half cents, from 69.5 cents to 72 cents, to fund the same Fiscal Year 2026-27 budget.

“All this is doing is preventing us from putting these things in place,” Howard said. “It does nothing else other than make us delay one year putting these things into place.”

Commissioner Tony Shaffer said he was prepared to vote regardless of what happens in Raleigh.

“I am going to vote to approve the budget, no matter what the rate is,” Shaffer said. “Based on the fact we have to run the county, right!?”

But it was Kirby who set the tone for the evening — and he was blunt about his frustration with state lawmakers.

“We, at the county level here, we’re at the very bottom of the feeding chain,” Kirby said. “Federal government’s up here, the state, and then we’re down here. And to have something like this being voted upon in the General Assembly on the 30th of June, the day before it has to go into effect for a county — I don’t believe they’ve given us due consideration.”

Kirby acknowledged that speaking so plainly might come with a political price, but said he had no interest in staying quiet.

“I know I am laying it up, and somebody will never vote for me again,” he said. “But I find it very disheartening that there is no more respect for what we as a county do toward making this a great state.”

Eight years on the board, Kirby said, and he has never seen anything quite like this. He closed with a statement that drew a sharp line between what county government has done and what the state has failed to do.

“We’ll do our job,” Kirby said. “We’ll do what we’re supposed to do. If everybody else did what they were supposed to do, we would be voting on the budget tonight. That’s all I have to say. I know it sounds like grandstanding, but that’s the truth.”

Before the board moved to other business, Kirby paused to address news media present in the room — aware that an incomplete account of the evening’s events could reflect poorly on the board.

“Make sure you get this right,” he said. “If you need to talk to someone, talk to us. But this has the potential of making our board look like a bunch of oafs, and nothing could be further from the truth.”

Howard also warned commissioners that residents should brace for some confusion in the coming months regardless of how the legislative vote goes. Tax bills mailed in August will reflect the old rate, with a follow-up notice to come. The question of whether homeowners will have the right to appeal their assessments next year also remains unsettled, he said, with language in the legislation that may or may not preserve that option.

Commissioners are set to reconvene Tuesday at 6 p.m., pending the outcome of the Senate vote.

In related news, Town of Edenton approved its budget, sort of.

Per Town Manager Corey Gooden, “We approved the original 43-cent budget on Friday, but there is uncertainty today (Monday) in the General Assembly on SB474, so something may change if Chowan remains in SB474. If not, no action. If so, we would have to consider the alternative I recommend at 55.5 per 100$ or something similar.”

My thoughts — Eastern NC needs to secede from Raleigh politics. And Raleigh’s meddling is poised to truly screw the farmers.