“There is no proposed tax increase,” said County Manager Don Adams.
Public safety and education each account for about a quarter of expenditures. General government takes up 16.5% of spending; human services 21.5%; and contingency, recreation, non-education debt, transportation and environmental protection together account for the remaining 12% of spending.
The proposed budget contains a one-step increase for all employees and a 3% cost of living adjustment for all employees totaling just over $1 million.
“We had several requests for salary reclassifications and new positions,” said Adams. “The classification and compensation study approved by the board March 15, 2022 and implemented effective January 1, 2022 should allow for the retention of existing personnel. The salary plan that has been implemented does allow for recruitment of both inexperienced and experienced personnel. I have not recommended any salary reclassifications in this proposal.”
New personnel, 15.5 positions, are recommended in the budget based on multiple needs. One housekeeper will be used for multiple facilities and one general utility worker is needed for the new Dillsboro Complex Facility. Four road patrol deputies and one detective for drug enforcement are recommended in the sheriff’s office. The jail is recommended to receive one new detention officer. A half-time administrative assistant is needed in code enforcement and a half-time programming manager is recommended for the Green Energy Park. One animal shelter attendant is needed in animal control. Two social workers are needed to manage caseloads and to implement Safety Organized Practice, a new software system. A support specialist position in social services is proposed to be extended for one additional year.
“We believe this position will eventually also expand into Medicaid expansion,” said Adams. “What’s not listed here is any personnel needed for Medicaid expansion. Mr. Webster and I are going to be having some meetings with the state to start getting a better understanding of that. That is all dependent upon the state budget being passed. There will be some funding associated with it, but until we have a better understanding of what that is we can’t come back to you and present to you what the needs of social services will be.”
Three and a half positions are proposed for the new aquatics facility. They will be hired on a staggered schedule beginning Jan.1, 2024. The positions include a site manager, head lifeguard and one and a half administrative assistants.
There are capital needs in the budget totaling just over $2 million with $1.5 million proposed to be spent on computers, servers, printers and software, as well as equipment for garage, cleaning, grounds maintenance, recreation, law enforcement and emergency communication. About $550,000 will be spent on five new vehicles at the Sheriff’s Department and $60,000 for painting and decal updates.
“I’m recommending that you hire more people,” said Adams. “For those people, you need additional vehicles.”
Two code enforcement vehicles will cost $70,000, two grounds maintenance vehicles are recommended at $104,724; $37,300 is set aside for a Cooperative Extension vehicle and $30,000 for one social service replacement vehicle.
About $2.5 million is recommended for capital improvements, including painting Cashiers code enforcement, replacement of one HVAC unit and painting in the Cashiers Recreation Center. Repairs are needed in the jail booking area, as well as cabinets and shelving in the kitchen, plus two HVAC units and a generator. Other improvements include Cullowhee Recreation Center building updates, Fairview Concession Road paving, repairs to the Sylva Pool, Mark Watson Park paving, Department of Aging roof repairs and road improvements plus an office unit at the Green Energy Park.
“Also included is a match for Highway 107 sidewalk construction,” said Adams.
Facility capital improvements will continue to the Aquatics Center, Domestic Violence Shelter, Whittier-Qualla Park and Glenville-Cashiers Splash Pad. All those projects have been previously approved by the board of commissioners and work has begun on the aquatics center and domestic violence shelter.
“The Qualla Park and the Glenville-Cashiers Splash Pad both have been designed to go out for bid and be done in the fall,” said Adams.
Jackson County is proposed to allocate $9,417,613 to the public schools for the coming fiscal year. This includes about $8 million for current operations, $880,950 in teacher supplements and $460,511 for counselors.
The county commits 40% of the Article 40 quarter-cent sales tax and 60% of the Article 42 half-cent sales tax to the public schools for capital. This will total $1.5 million or capital outlay for the school system.
“It is recommended to budget an additional $2.5 million for public school capital expenditures out of the Articles 40 and 42 sales tax. That’s not to be expended, that’s basically setting you up for your planning process,” said Adams.
There is $130,000 set aside in capital outlay funds for the creation of a FY 2024-2028 Facility Capital Improvement Plan.
“These sales tax funds, future grants and available lottery proceeds will dictate the public schools’ FY 2024-2028 Facility Capital Improvement Plan,” said Adams.
The county will allocate $2.6 million for Southwestern Community College for current operations, a 4% increase in funding. The proposed general maintenance capital outlay appropriation is $154,850 for fire alarm system upgrades and $50,000 for incidental repairs.
The Jackson County Library is part of the Fontana Regional Library system. Therefore, the county will allocate $1.3 million to the FRL to operate both the Jackson County Library and the Albert Carlton Library. This represents a 4% increase in funding.
Other appropriations in the budget account for safety, community development centers and nonprofits.
It is proposed that Canada, Savannah, Balsam and Qualla Volunteer Fire Departments — the four departments remaining with volunteer service — and the Glenville-Cashiers and Jackson County Rescue Squads receive a 4% increase in allocation. Matching funds will be made available for equipment purchased under grant funding.
The Sylva Fire Department is being funded at $1.1 million. This will enable the department to have paid members on staff 24 hours per day, seven days a week by continuing to fund eight full-time positions. The department provides mutual aid to other departments within the county.
The Cullowhee Fire Department is being funded at $1.1 million. This department is also able to have paid personnel working around the clock and provide mutual aid throughout the county.
The budget proposes that Community Development Center funding to all 14 centers remain the same as Fiscal Year 2022-2023 levels, with the exception of the Community Table and Cullowhee revitalization which need to have funding increased to be brought back to pre-COVID funding levels.
“If you take the Community Table, they were receiving $10,000, and I’m proposing to take them back to $20,000. The reason being is because when they received all the COVID dollars, they actually reduced their request to us,” said Adams. “Now those dollars are gone, they’re just asking to get back to level funding.”
The Solid Waste FY 2023-24 proposed operating budget is $5.2 million, which represents an increase of 1.69%% over the current year.
“This fund is completely funded from fees collected for the service. There are no major operational changes at this point. We are not proposing any increase in availability fees,” said Adams.
A public hearing for the proposed budget is scheduled for 5:55 p.m. on June 6 and the budget is tentatively scheduled to be approved by commissioners June 20, after the board has had the opportunity to make any final adjustments.
