Daily Journal file photo County water and solid waste rates, along with the pay of full-time county employees, are expected to rise by 3 percent in the coming year, according to the proposed budget. Property tax rates will remain the same.

ROCKINGHAM — County employees are slated for a 3 percent increase in the upcoming year despite no rise in property taxes, if commissioners approve the proposed budget of nearly $50 million.

The Richmond County Board of Commissioners will hold a work session Tuesday afternoon, prior to its monthly meeting, to go over the details of the $49,994,945 budget.

“We have been holding this one-day workshop for the last several years,” County Manager Rick Sago said in an email Monday afternoon. “It is up to the (board) to decide when and how often they want to meet and this was their decision.”

Although the proposed budget “is extremely conservative and tight,” Sago said it is “actually in better shape than it has been for a few years,” with a lesser amount being appropriated from the county’s fund balance.

“This is because of the hard work of the (commissioners) and the staff to find ways to become more efficient and constantly finding ways to save money,” he said.

REVENUE STREAMS

Sago said the primary sources of income for the county are through property and sales taxes.

Although the county’s property tax values “are still suffering from a lag,” Sago said the rate will remain the same — $0.81 per $100 of valuation — as it has for the past eight years.

The collection of vehicle taxes, now by the N.C. Department of Motor Vehicles, has “led to some uncertainty in revenue projections,” he said.

He also said that sales tax revenues are down $3.5 million since 2008, but have begun to pick back up, with the amount from 2014-15 exceeding the budgeted amount. There is also a 2 percent increase expected for the upcoming year.

However, customers of county services may see a slight rise, if the budget is approved.

Both the solid waste and water budgets — $4,577,471 and $5,731,100, respectively — call for a 3 percent increase.

As for the water rate, Sago said “occasional water rate increases will be necessary in the future to keep up with the continued increase in the cost of water chemicals and fuel costs.”

The water budget also includes some equipment improvements, he added.

COUNTY EMPLOYEES

With personnel costs making up a large portion of the county’s budget, measures have been made to help take care of the county’s 375 full-time employees, both financially and physically.

One of those measures is a 3 percent salary increase.

In the budget message, Sago said even with the increase, county employees are still lagging behind the Consumer Price Index by 3.2 percent.

Sago said the proposed budget also includes money to continue the merit pay program, a plan adopted by commissioners that has “helped us to reward and retain those employees who mean the most to our citizens.”

The county is also proposing to switch health insurance providers to First Carolina Care.

Sago said this change would cut costs by 7.7 percent, “while maintaining most of our benefits for our employees.”

In addition to the insurance, Sago said the proposed budget also continues to to fund the County Employee Health Clinic, which is operated through the health department and began on a limited scale five years ago.

“The clinic will continue to be available at little or no cost to our employees,” he said in the message. “The benefits of this clinic may positively affect not only the general health of our employees, but our health insurance costs over the long haul.”

REQUESTS NOT MET

Sago said many departmental budgets have been “cut severely,” including central garage, building maintenance, parks, aging services, jail administration and the sheriff’s office.

Of those, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office had requested the most — $5,110,759.

However, the amount recommended in the proposed budget is $4,964,759, which is still an increase over the past several years.

The jail administration is budgeted to receive $1,855,585, more than $62,000 less than requested.

The other departments from that list are budgeted for $5,000-$18,000 below requested amounts.

Despite the cuts, most departments will see an increase in their budgets from previous years.

Sago added that some organizations have been budgeted for less than they requested, but said none that the county has routinely funded were left out.

With a total of $756,683 requested, the budget calls for contributing $741,683 to the various councils and agencies.

Several organizations — including Discovery Place Kids ($100,000), the community theater ($6,000) and Sandhills Children’s Center ($45,000) — retain their usual amount of funding.

Aside from DPK, the county’s highest budgeted contributions will go toward the Office of Juvenile Justice Youth Services ($129,678) and mental health ($137,000), the latter of which is budgeted for $15,000 less than previous years.

The work session is open to the public and will be held at 3 p.m. in the commission chambers, prior to the regular meeting at 5:30.

Reach reporter William R. Toler at 910-817-2675 and follow him on Twitter @William_r_Toler.