The Pender County Board of County Commissioners has approved the FY 2024-2025 operating budget during their June 17th meeting. The manager's recommended budget was presented on May 22nd before the commissioners, who sealed approvals to the $106,355,051 General Fund total presented three weeks before. The adopted tax rate is unchanged at the current rate of 0.7375 cents per $100 of valuation.
The General Fund budget includes significant investments in education, of which $28,866,270 is dedicated to operating expenses, $2,900,000 in capital outlay expenses to Pender County Schools, and an appropriation of $708,900 to Cape Fear Community College. Additionally, future capital outlay expenses are budgeted at over $10.6 million. Significant investments are also dedicated to public safety, with the addition of eight new deputy positions, one new detective position, and four new detention officers at the Pender County jail. General Fund dollars have also increased to both the Pender County Health Department and Department of Social Services, and their budgets have increased to approximately $8.3 million and $13.02 million, respectively. Also included is over $2.5 million in outside agency funding to various non-profits and local organizations. Finally, for all employees, a 3.4% COLA has been implemented. This allows employees to maintain their purchasing power and enables the county to continue emphasizing retention and recruitment for positions.
In addition, Enterprise Fund budgets have been approved for Pender County Utilities and others. These include new positions to address water and sewer maintenance needs across the county and personnel, equipment, and capital to continue improving infrastructure for the area's 12,000 customers.
FY 24-25 approves 26.9 new positions in the General Fund, five new positions in the Enterprise Funds, and 16 reclassifications. County leadership and Finance staff are confident this budget will meet the county's needs and place Pender County in a position to realize and capitalize on growth opportunities.
Attached is a copy of the FY 24-25 budget and a budget-in-brief summary document.
For more information, visit the Finance page.
by Jacob Orman