Proposed county budget maintains tax rate

May 21—HIGH POINT — Guilford County residents would pay the same property tax rate of 73.05 cents per $100 property valuation under the proposed 2021-22 fiscal year budget County Manager Michael Halford presented Thursday to the Board of Commissioners.

Vice Chair Carlvena Foster and Chairman Skip Alston thanked Halford and his team for presenting the budget with clear explanations. "Especially the part about no tax increase," Alston said.

Alston asked for more guidance on COVID-related state and federal funding that could be coming to the county. The staff can update the board with what is known now, but Halford said it's "the tip of an iceberg" and will take a while to go through because information is constantly unfolding.

The proposed budget is available online at guilfordcountync.gov. A public hearing is set for June 3 at 5:30 p.m., and board members plan to consider any changes during a work session at 3 p.m. June 8. The board is expected to adopt a budget at its June 17 meeting.

"I know the pandemic's toll has been tremendous, not only for our economy and our ability to interact with one another, but also on a very personal level for so many of our fellow residents," Halford said.

When he wrote his budget message, county staff members were among the more than 700 Guilford County residents who had lost their lives to COVID-19. In addition to their regular job duties, county teams spent more than 200,000 hours responding to the pandemic during the fiscal year, both with testing and vaccinations.

Dr. Iulia Vann, public health director, reported 52% of eligible residents have received at least one vaccine and 47% are fully vaccinated.

Halford also thanked board members for the clarity they provided on priorities and core values, saying it assisted with ongoing operations and was instrumental in preparing the budget plan. He recalled last spring when the county was just beginning to experience the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses scaled back operations, schools closed and unemployment soared then while the county anticipated less sales tax revenue and large increases in some expenses, particularly in public health, public safety and human services.

"To our surprise, sales tax receipts are stronger than expected, property tax receipts remained stable, federal CARES Act funds and additional state assistance helped the county offset many of its most significant pandemic response costs, and one-time stimulus funds helped many in our community make ends meet," Halford said.

While the county's financial picture is better than expected, Halford noted many people are still struggling and the pandemic's disproportionate impact on Black and Latino communities. Halford described it as "a tale of two recoveries." Given this uneven recovery, the county still faces uncertainty about the future and its revenues and expenses over the next year, he said.

"Things aren't as bad as we expected," Halford said. "But the reality is we don't know what's around the corner."

Despite that, the proposed budget provides the largest increase in Guilford County Schools funding in 20 years, $13.4 million, for a total of $226.1 million total spending for operating and capital costs. It also calls for releasing $120 million of the $300 million voter-approved school bonds. In April, the board approved $300 million in capital project ordinances for 11 school projects, which allows the Board of Education to proceed with implementing its building plan. The recommended budget would sell $120 million of bonds in the fall and the remaining $180 million 12-18 months later, depending on construction progress.

The budget also recommends a $407,500 increase for Guilford Technical Community College to increase college operations, including personnel, insurance and building costs. The capital maintenance budget for GTCC remains $550,000. The total recommended operating and capital maintenance budget for FY 2021-22 is just under $18.1 million. The total amount of local operating and capital funding for GCS and GTCC included in the recommended budget is $244.2 million — an increase of 6% or $13.8 million.

cingram@hpenews.com — 336-888-3534 — @HPEcinde