Tabitha Evans Moore, EDITOR & PUBLISHER
LYNCHBURG — For the past several years, passing the Metro Budget has been a bit of a fight, but on Monday the Metro Council voted 13-1 to pass the first reading of the 2024-25 Metro Moore County General budget with zero push back.
Budget Committee members didn’t give the Council much to argue about. There was no property tax increase for 2024-25. Moore County also recently experienced a state mandated property reappraisal cycle.
Budget Committee Chair Gerald Burnett made the motion to pass the first reading and fellow Budget Committee member Bradley Dye seconded it. During open discussion, there were no comments from any member.
Burnett, Dye, Shane Taylor, Douglas Carson, Arvis Bobo, Sunny Rae Moorehead, Amy Cashion, Jimmy Hammond, Dexter Golden, Houston Lindsey, John Taylor, Mary Cashion, and Greg Guinn voted in favor of the first reading. Robert Bracewell voted no. Peggy Sue Blackburn was absent from the meeting.
Total budget comes in at over $20 million
The five members of the Metro Budget Committee Amy Cashion (1st District), John Taylor (2nd District), Marty Cashion (3rd District), Bradley Dye (4th District) and Budget Committee Chair Gerald Burnett (5th District) met for months leading up to the June Metro Council meeting to arrive at the plan.
The tax rate went from $2.42 in fiscal year 2023-24 down to $1.56 thanks in part to an adjustment from the state-mandated reappraisal cycle. The Urban Service District – those inside the former Lynchburg city limits – will pay an additional .0068 of a cent.
Mayor Stewart and Property Assessor Shawn Sherrill worked with CTAS to arrive at the rate. It represents the rate necessary to produce revenue consistent with the previous year and was adjusted down based on a increase in individual property values throughout the county.
The breakdown of the $1.56 rate will equal $20,986,968 in total appropriations. In total, $8,239,050 will be generated from property taxes and another $12,747,917 will come from other sources. According to the Budget Committee, adjustments to garbage pickup fee, ambulance service fees, and a higher allocation of Sales Tax revenue to the General Fund increased revenue as well as the recently updated building permit fee structure. ARPA funds also contributed.
This year’s budget is figured on the assumption that each penny of the tax rate will bring in $52,682.
The breakdown of appropriated funds is as follows: General Fund $6,296,027, Solid Waste Fund $651,958, General Purpose School Fund $10,331,084, Highway Fund $2,332,207, and General Debt Services $1,375,692 in total revenue.
The fund balance for the 2024-25 budget meets the 15 percent threshold set by the state and all other funds with “healthy balances,” according to the Budget Committee.
Mostly state-mandate, self-funded increases
In total, Metro officials budgeted for $$22,517,754 in expenditures in 2024-25. The break down is as follows: $6,556,063 General Fund, $686,872 Solid Waste Fund, $11,304,075 General Purpose School Fund, $2,466,004 Highway Fund, $1,474,740 General Debt Service Fund, and $30,000 Capital Projects.
The Capital Projects line item is the single biggest decrease – going from $100,000 in the previous year down to $30,000 in fiscal 2024-25. Budget Chair Burnett emphasized after the meeting that the $30,000 is simply a placeholder and that the Metro Council would need to pass a budget amendment if a capital project need is identified in the next year.
Increases in expenditures were mostly state-mandated such as a 5.6 percent increase in elected officials minimum salary, an eight percent increase in health insurance costs, and a 18 percent increase in workman comp insurance. The budget also gives all Metro employees a three percent merit raise.
Line item increases also included the addition of a data processing employee in the Mayor’s office. That position was offset by a reduction in maintenance costs. The Metro Planning and Codes Administrator will get a raise. The raise is self-funded by the department through building permit fee increases. The Property Tax Assessor will also get a staff increase due to the increased number of parcel in the county.
Departments managed expenditures
Following the meeting, Budget Committee Chair Gerald Burnett said he wasn’t surprised that the budget passes without much push back.
“We generally have a fight but I thought we had a very good budget to present to the council this year,” he said. “We’re benefiting from growth in the county. Every department worked hard and managed their expenditure requests extremely well.”
The Metro Council will consider the second reading of the fiscal 2024-25 budget at their July meeting, which takes place on Monday, July 15 at 6:30 p.m. There will be a public hearing at 6 p.m. •
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