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Rockingham commissioners pass budget with tax increase

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

(Updated 10:55 pm)

By Jonnelle Davis
Staff Writer

WENTWORTH — The unanimous vote Wednesday to pass the new Rockingham County budget didn’t come easily — or quickly.

Harold Bass, vice chairman of the Rockingham County Board of Commissioners, made the first move and suggested the budget’s approval.

Silence.

Then fellow Commissioner Bobby Stanley spoke up, telling the board that any additional money that became available during the year should go toward the school system and that he wished the budget did not have to be balanced by raising the property tax rate.

With that, he agreed to approve the budget, and the rest of the board followed.

“I just want people to know, from my point of view, this was well thought out,” Stanley said.

The $78.9 million budget includes a 1 cent tax increase, bringing the rate to 71.5 cents per $100 valuation. It keeps a 5 cent tax the commissioners approved in 2006 for capital projects.

Property owners will not be the only ones to bear the burden of balancing the budget. County employees will have to take two furlough days, won’t get pay increases and won’t receive the 1 percent contribution from the county to their 401(k) plan next year.

School officials asked the commissioners to give them what they received this year, $17.3 million. Instead, the commissioners reduced the schools’ allocation to $16.9 million.

That decision seemed to pain commissioners the most.

In a last-ditch effort to restore some of the schools’ funding, Commissioner Tommy Flynt asked County Manager Tom Robinson to consider holding open some vacant positions and giving the money saved to the schools. But Robinson said the few positions currently open are considered critical and need to be filled.

School officials looked on from the front of the commissioners’ chambers as the vote was made. It was a double whammy for them, given the tenuous situation with the state budget. Superintendent Rodney Shotwell said the Rockingham schools have had to return about $2 million to the state this year.

Throughout the budget season, the commissioners praised school leaders for having managed their money so well and building up their emergency fund from $2.5 million to more than $6 million in 12 years.

But adding to that fund has not come easy, Shotwell said after the meeting. He has shed about 40 positions in recent years. Shotwell already has had to dip into that pot of money, which he said is now closer to $5 million.

County leaders say the tax increase and cuts to the schools and other departments allows the sacrifices that come with balancing the budget to be shared. If the commissioners had failed to include a property-tax increase, they would have been forced to cut jobs.

“We tried to spread the reductions around as much as we possibly could,” said Mike Apple, the county’s finance director.

Contact Jonnelle Davis at 627-4881, Ext. 126, or jonnelle.davis@news-record.com

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countryboy

June 24, 2009 - 11:47 am EDT

Taxing our way to prosperity...

Illiterati

June 24, 2009 - 12:06 pm EDT

I don't even know where to begin with the greedy ol' boy nature of the county commission. Bunch of backward-thinking fools who will drive the county even farther back into the stone age. I'd like to see some extra money become available in my wallet, Tom, and if it happens, you can rest assured neither you nor the schools are getting any of it. Oh wait, you already voted yourself a raise, so I guess you already got what you wanted.

muggzy

June 24, 2009 - 3:03 pm EDT

When and where does the County Manager get to "vote" himself a raise? I didn't realize that he has a vote.

jeffreyhsykes

June 24, 2009 - 2:12 pm EDT

Please visit http://rockgop.wordpress.com to see the local Republican response to the action of the all-Democratic board of County Commissioners.

Concerned2

June 24, 2009 - 2:30 pm EDT

Please check the minutes of all the board meetings. You will see that the biggest increase and the most steady increased in the county budget is for the sheriff's office, which is run by a republican sheriff. But neither party matters when you are buying toys.

jeffreyhsykes

June 24, 2009 - 2:43 pm EDT

These statements are not based on fact. The sheriff's office budget was reduced last year in order to balance the county budget. He cut four positions at the request of the commissioners. He did so in order to spare property owners a tax increase at that time.

Commissioners did not have the guts to raise taxes last year after we spanked their sales tax referendum by at vote of 70-30 against. I guess they forgot about that.

We won't.

Concerned2

June 24, 2009 - 2:18 pm EDT

So they say the county needs to increase taxes.

ITEM #6 –SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT –PURCHASE VEHICLE–BUDGET REVISION

Commissioner Kallam moved, Commissioner Flynt seconded and the vote was unanimous to approve the request of Sheriff Page to purchase a new vehicle and emergency accessories for his own use, at a cost of $33,738. The budget revision follows:

Sheriff Page also got himself a boat on Tuesday just before the tax meeting at the high school. WHY!!!!

jeffreyhsykes

June 24, 2009 - 2:38 pm EDT

All the sheriff's vehicle purchases were made with drug seizure money. He has to get approval from the county commissioners to access the drug seizure money. He cannot just spend the money at will.

CopOnTheBeat

June 24, 2009 - 2:44 pm EDT

Concerned2: Geez....haven't you heard? Theres all sorts of trouble on the HIGH SEAS in ROCKINGHAM COUNTY. Piracy and all that. How many times have you seen the Rockingham County Sheriff's Department actually DO ANYTHING when they're 'patrolling' Belews Lake? Other than look at bikinis (and that includes Sammy Boy) -- they're just burning up fuel and taking a mini-recreational-vacation within the county. Bug man Kallam is right in Sam's pocket, so is Lumpy "Squirrel-head" Stanley and the rest of that bunch. Remember, the election for Sheriff is in 2010. The Dems are gearing up to oppose Republican Toucan Sam. Maybe then he won't get a new vehicle ever few years and we can run that boat, the Belews Lake Queen..aground!

jeffreyhsykes

June 24, 2009 - 2:47 pm EDT

Sam Page has a 90 percent positive approval rating in recent polls conducted by opposition parties.

Good luck on tearing Sam down. The people love him.

Illiterati

June 25, 2009 - 10:55 am EDT

I can tell you that I frequently walk by at least one officer napping in his car...er, patrolling the high seas of the pond at Farris Park. You never know what kind of piracy will happen there, but at least the sheriff's department has it covered, along with some help from a Mayodan PD officer who frequently drives around the back of the walking trail to nap—er, conduct surveillance. Glad to hear all the drug seizure money is coming in handy!

CopOnTheBeat

June 24, 2009 - 2:50 pm EDT

What polls? Name them..

jeffreyhsykes

June 24, 2009 - 3:01 pm EDT

Polls conducted on behalf of candidates by outside consultants. Trust me.

Malakuko

June 25, 2009 - 4:00 am EDT

a wise man once told me, "you can't trust a person who says, trust me"

CopOnTheBeat

June 24, 2009 - 3:17 pm EDT

Uh huh...independent polls on behalf of the candidates. They always smell like dill pickles..a little sour. I never believe them.

I am not doubting you when you say that, dont get me wrong. But as far as the county being in love with Sam and his job performance (and that of his underlings) I don't buy it. I even hear the words 'term limits' when his name is mentioned sometimes. And he can certainly be replaced at election time, you know that's true. For everything, there is a season. His predecessor learned that the hard way, and so did Buster Axsom, the sheriff before him. People get tired of the same ol crap.

But I stand by what I said. The boat, the new vehicles (including one for Sam every couple of years) and going to scuba diving schools in Florida are a huge waste of the taxpayer dollars, and it will come back and bite him, wait and see.

I was just trying to remember how many scuba diving schools in Florida that Bobby Vernon and Carl Axsom went to. For the life of me, I can't remember a one. Carl Axsom wore nice hats though.

jeffreyhsykes

June 24, 2009 - 3:42 pm EDT

I understand about the appearance of frills. I hope the sheriff has a good answer for that criticism, which is valid since it concerns tax money.

The polls I speak of were conducted by a credible political consultant on behalf of a major political presence in this county. Page was not the subject of the poll, but was included on a generic name recognition question. Voters were asked do they have a positive or negative view of so and so and Sam Page had the highest positive rating of all the names on the list.

Malakuko

June 25, 2009 - 3:57 am EDT

name the polls, the credible political consultant, and the major political presence? names will you please, if not then this poll you speak of is no good.

ravencottage

June 24, 2009 - 5:31 pm EDT

I can't wait to vote against all these turkeys.

jeffreyhsykes

June 25, 2009 - 8:33 am EDT

Since the News and Record refused to print even one sentence from those who oppose the tax increase, here is the full press release from the Rockingham County Republican Party:

REIDSVILLE – Rockingham County Commissioners defied passionate appeals by property owners a mere 48 hours before they voted unanimously Wednesday morning to raise property taxes in the county for the third time in five years.
In addition, these same commissioners last year advocated for an increase in local sales taxes and went along with a questionable property revaluation earlier this year until the last minute, when enough public pressure was brought to bear to stop the increase.
By mollifying special interest groups and government employees, the five Democratic commissioners have demonstrated a clear record of resorting to tax increases and failing to demonstrate the leadership required of elected officials.
“This is not about keeping government employees, this is about the county spending too much money on projects that require tax payer money,” said Wayne Sexton, chairman of the Rockingham County Republican Party. “With times as hard as they are and as uncertain as they are the county commissioners have no business raising any kind of taxes. They need to cut spending across the board. That doesn’t mean automatically cutting teachers or librarians or sheriff’s deputies.”
As an example of the choices the county administration makes, general government administration salaries were cut a mere 1.3 percent out of more than $6.8 million. A 10 percent salary cut across the board, for example, would have freed up more money by itself than the tax increase.
“The county can never have enough money to spend,” Sexton said. “When household or business incomes slow down or we face budget challenges we have to cut. We can’t just go somewhere and get the money. It’s time that government at all levels understands that.”
The Rockingham County Republican Party desires that all conservatives who believe in limited government will rally to our cause.
We have a breakfast meeting scheduled for 830 am Saturday Aug. 1 at the Golden Corral in Reidsville. This meeting is open to all Republicans and conservative Democrats and independents who are interested in joining our party. The GOP will be pushing for more limited government, increased transparency and accountability in upcoming election cycles.
“This current board does not listen to the people that put them in office,” Sexton said. “It is very plain to see. If you believe in government of, by and for the people then you must react to this tax increase and let the commissioners know that we are not satisfied that they are doing the will of the people there in Wentworth.”
Visit www.rockgop.com for more information.

jeffreyhsykes

June 25, 2009 - 8:35 am EDT

This says all one needs to know about the priorities of our current county leadership:

"As an example of the choices the county administration makes, general government administration salaries were cut a mere 1.3 percent out of more than $6.8 million. A 10 percent salary cut across the board, for example, would have freed up more money by itself than the tax increase."

A pay reduction could have freed up $680,000 while the tax increase will bring in about $500,000.

My property tax bill has gone from $960 to more than $1,400 since 2004.