Budget plan ready for public hearing

With one dissenting voice, the Alleghany County Board of Commissioners agreed to maintain a five-cent tax rate increase through the public hearing, which was slated for Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m.

Commissioner Eldon Edwards said that he thinks the county could make the rate increase four cents, but all the other commissioners opted for the five-cent tax hike.

With the five-cent tax hike, the county will have a tax rate of 56 cents per $100 in value, utilizing a collection rate of about 96 percent, according to County Manager Don Adams.

Chair Ken Richardson seemed to sum up the majority opinion when he noted the commission needs to be "very prudent about our savings account." Richardson was speaking of the county's fund balance, which should be kept at 20 to 30 percent of the budget total, according to recommendations from the Local Government Commission. Smaller counties should have a larger portion of their budget set back for emergencies, Adams said. Larger counties like Mecklenburg with huge budgets do not need to set back as much of their budget in reserve.

The county is required by law to have 8 percent of its budget not committed in the general fund, Adams said. "If we ever went below the 8 percent we would be mandated the next year to raise taxes," he said. The county's fund balance at the end of next year is projected to be around $230,000, which amounts to around 20 percent of the county's proposed budget. Right now, the county has a fund balance of about $306,000, Adams said.

Money is taken from the fund balance for any unforeseen expenses incurred by the county. The county also has about $45,000 set aside for contingency funds, used for discretionary spending for county programs and other needs by the commission.

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