Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
FROM: Lance L. Metzler, County Manager
RE: Budget Message – Fiscal Year 2018‐2019
DATE: May 21, 2018
I am pleased to present my recommended Rockingham County Fiscal Year 2018‐2019 Budget in the amount of $125,965,740,
with the General Fund constituting $88,467,328. This marks the lowest General Fund Budget since FY 2014/15, and a
reduction of $3,963,552 over the current years’ adopted General Fund budget. The budget is balanced and in compliance
with the North Carolina Local Government Budget and Fiscal Control Act, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP),
and aligned with the priorities and direction given by the Board of Commissioners.
The purpose of the County’s annual budget process is to develop a fiscally responsible plan that enables the organization to
accomplish the priorities established by the Board of County Commissioners. The Board’s current vision, mission, and
strategic focus areas are outlined as follows:
Vision: Provide the best quality of life educationally, economically, and environmentally.
Mission: Rockingham County Government will strive to provide the highest quality of life and the opportunities to achieve it.
Strategic Focus Areas:
Economic Development
Organizational Efficiency and Effectiveness
Public Safety
Citizen Engagement / Communication
County Appearance / Environmental Enhancement
Quality of Life
Education
FISCAL YEAR 2018/19 BUDGET
Next fiscal year’s budget presented many challenges requiring difficult decisions and creative problem solving. My primary
goals were to present a balanced budget that included no tax increase, preserved high quality service delivery to citizens, and
met as many goals of the Board of Commissioners as funding would allow.
After initial budget requests were submitted by departments and outside agencies to the budget team, we arrived at a
General Fund budget deficit of approximately $6.6 million or the equivalent of 9.2 cents of property tax rate. Driving factors
behind this deficit were:
A $3.1 million requested increase in funding for Rockingham County Schools.
A $910,000 requested increase in Information Technology.
A $350,000 requested increase for Engineering and Public Utilities
A $200,000 requested increase for retiree health insurance coverage.
A $480,000 requested increase for EMS
A $900,000 requested increase for Sheriff and Jail
An $850,000 requested increase for Rockingham Community College.
An $180,000 requested increase in General Fund dollars sent to the Water and Sewer Funds.
Balancing the budget in light of these requests required thorough analysis of the County’s revenue streams and departmental
budgets. Details on my recommendations are found in the following pages.
REVENUES Property Tax Rate Change between FY 2009/10 and FY 2017/18
71
ALAMANCE (+6 cents)
Ad Valorem (Property Tax) ALEXANDER (+18.5 cents)
ALLEGHANY (+8.25 cents)
The Recommended Budget includes no property tax increase, ASHE (+1.8 cents)
AVERY (+16 cents)
keeping the County tax rate flat at $0.696 per $100 valuation. BERTIE (+5 cents)
th
If approved, this would mark the 9 consecutive year with no BLADEN (+8 cents)
County property tax increase. This is a significant BRUNSWICK (+18 cents)
BUNCOMBE (+1.4 cents)
achievement, as 71 counties in North Carolina have BURKE (+17.5 cents)
experienced an increase in their property tax rate between FY CABARRUS (+7 cents)
CAMDEN (+13 cents)
2009/10 and FY 2017/18 while only 18, including Rockingham,
CARTERET (+8 cents)
have decreased. CASWELL (+11.69 cents)
CATAWBA (+4 cents)
CHATHAM (+2.59 cents)
The projected County tax base for Fiscal Year 2018/19 is $7.33
CHEROKEE (+13.5 cents)
billion, comprised of real and personal property values of $5.7 CHOWAN (+5.5 cents)
billion, public utility values of $850 million, and motor vehicle CUMBERLAND (+3.3 cents)
CURRITUCK (+16 cents)
values of $775 million. This is a 2.4 percent increase over the DARE (+21 cents)
current year’s adopted tax base. This increase is driven DAVIE (+10.8 cents)
primarily by growth in public utility values, which more than DUPLIN (+0.5 cents)
DURHAM (+5.98 cents)
offsets losses in personal property. Changes in values EDGECOMBE (+9 cents)
compared to the current year adopted budget are described FORSYTH (+4.95 cents)
below: FRANKLIN (+2.25 cents)
GASTON (+3.5 cents)
GATES (+12 cents)
Real property value is projected to increase 0.94 GRAHAM (+0.5 cents)
percent or $46.7 million next year, driven by GRANVILLE (+5.5 cents)
experience in the current year and normal growth. GREENE (+3 cents)
HALIFAX (+10 cents)
Personal property value is projected to decrease 1.03 HARNETT (+1.5 cents)
percent or $7.4 million, driven by additional value HAYWOOD (+7.1 cents)
HENDERSON (+10.3 cents)
losses from the closing of the MillerCoors and Ball
HOKE (+5 cents)
Metal plants. HYDE (+21 cents)
Public Utilities value is projected to increase 13.02 IREDELL (+8.25 cents)
JACKSON (+9 cents)
percent or $97.9 million. This is largely a budgetary JONES (+14 cents)
true up, with next years’ projected values LEE (+4.5 cents)
representing a much smaller 2 percent increase LENOIR (+3.5 cents)
LINCOLN (+4.1 cents)
($16.65 million) when compared to the final actual MACON (+8.49 cents)
value in the current year. Public Utility values are set MADISON (+1 cents)
by the State and not provided to the County until MARTIN (+12 cents)
MITCHELL (+14 cents)
August of each year, making them difficult to project NEW HANOVER (+11.75 cents)
for budget purposes. NORTHAMPTON (+14 cents)
Motor vehicles revenue continues to be strong, with ONSLOW (+8.5 cents)
PASQUOTANK (+18.5 cents)
the Recommended Budget projecting a 4.4 percent PENDER (+3.5 cents) 18
increase or $32.7 million from the current year PERQUIMANS (+16 cents) ANSON (‐9.3 cents)
PITT (+3.1 cents) BEAUFORT (‐5 cents)
adopted values.
POLK (+0.94 cents) CALDWELL (‐2.99 cents)
RANDOLPH (+9.75 cents) CLAY (‐5 cents)
The Recommended Budget applies a tax collection rate of ROWAN (+6.75 cents) COLUMBUS (‐1 cents)
98.27 percent to real property, personal property, and public RUTHERFORD (+7.7 cents) CRAVEN (‐7.06 cents)
STOKES (+6 cents) 11 GUILFORD (‐0.69 cents)
utilities in accordance with the North Carolina Local
SWAIN (+3 cents) CLEVELAND (0 cents) HERTFORD (‐7 cents)
Government Budget and Fiscal Control Act. This is a 0.04 TRANSYLVANIA (+11.61 cents) DAVIDSON (0 cents) MECKLENBURG (‐2.3 cents)
percentage point decrease from the 98.31 percent rate that TYRRELL (+16 cents) JOHNSTON (0 cents) ORANGE (‐2.03 cents)
was budgeted in the current fiscal year. A tax collection rate of UNION (+11.6 cents) MCDOWELL (0 cents) PAMLICO (‐2.75 cents)
VANCE (+10.8 cents) MONTGOMERY (0 cents) RICHMOND (‐2 cents)
100 percent is applied to all motor vehicle property. WAKE (+8.1 cents) MOORE (0 cents) ROBESON (‐3 cents)
WARREN (+16 cents) NASH (0 cents) ROCKINGHAM (‐1.9 cents)
From this growth in tax base, total current year ad valorem WASHINGTON (+6.5 cents) PERSON (0 cents) SAMPSON (‐2 cents)
WATAUGA (+4 cents) STANLY (0 cents) SCOTLAND (‐1 cents)
revenues are projected to be $50,230,057 or an increase of WILKES (+10 cents) SURRY (0 cents) WAYNE (‐10.05 cents)
$1,147,272 from FY 2017/18. Of this total current year ad YANCEY (+15 cents) WILSON (0 cents) YADKIN (‐8 cents)
Increase No Change Decrease
valorem revenue, $3,442,490 is dedicated to the County’s capital improvement plan and transferred to the General Capital
Reserve Fund.
Following these changes, the value of a penny of the property tax rate increases to $721,696 from the current year adopted
value of $705,212.
Sales Tax
Rockingham County currently receives 2 cents of the total sales tax rate of 6.75 cents per one dollar spent. The County shares
proceeds from these 2 cents with the municipalities on a per capita basis. A portion of this revenue is also restricted by
General Statute specifically for school capital needs and is therefore recorded directly in the County’s Schools Capital Reserve
Fund for this purpose. The remaining amount is unrestricted revenue and represents the County’s second most significant
source of discretionary funding.
Sales tax revenue growth has been stagnant in the current year, with July through March collections growing only 0.3 percent
when compared to the same period the year before. To remain conservative, the recommended General Fund budget
therefore leaves this revenue virtually flat with the current year’s budget ($9.477 million projected next year compared to
$9.479 million in the current year.
Quarter Cent Sales Tax
Voters in the May 8, 2018 primary election approved the local option quarter‐cent sales tax by a margin of 55.5% to 44.5%.
Before this can be implemented, the Board of Commissioners must first provide 10 days public notice of its intent to adopt a
resolution to levy this tax. This means that the earliest the Board can consider this resolution is at its June 4, 2018 meeting,
and revenue estimates are therefore not included in this Recommended Budget. If the Board approves the resolution, and
following notice to the NC Department of Revenue, this tax will become effective as of October 1, 2018. The proceeds from
this tax will be dedicated exclusively to Rockingham Community College and can be allocated by the Board of Commissioners
during the fiscal year.
Other Key Revenue Changes
Key revenue changes outside property and sales tax are detailed below.
General Fund
Building Inspection Fees (decrease of $40,000) – This revenue is decreased next year based on actual collections to
date in the current year. While new housing starts are up 13.5 percent when comparing 2017 to 2016, commercial
development has shown a sharp
decline. Based on current calendar If the current trend continues, calendar year 2018 will be an 89
year‐to‐date permits through April, percent drop in commercial construction cost compared to 2013.
the construction value of commercial 25,000,000
projects (which the building permit
fee is based on) will be the lowest it 20,000,000 20,102,145
has been for at least the last 5 years.
Commercial construction cost 15,000,000 14,106,367
estimates between January and April
2018 were only approximately 10,288,255
10,000,000 8,405,420
$688,000. Using an average of past 7,836,116
year’s monthly revenue collection
history, if this trend continues the 5,000,000 1,530,912
County is projected to have only $2.2
‐ 687,801
million in commercial construction
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
cost in 2018. This is only 11 percent
of the commercial construction costs Actual Estimated Construction Cost Projected for Remainder of Year
in 2013.
In recent years, the County has experienced commercial development projects such as several solar farms, an urgent
care, a veterinary office, and the new Bethany Community School that have helped this revenue stream remain fairly
steady. Commercial development can be sporadic, however, and it is staff’s hope that this lull will not be sustained
and commercial construction will pick up again.
Social Services ‐ Child Care Subsidy Revenue (decrease of $3,558,645) – Funding for Child Care vouchers no longer
flows through the County (now processed through NC FAST), and this revenue is therefore reduced to only $100,000
for small carryover cases. This reduction in revenue is matched with a reduction in expense in DSS Public Assistance.
Social Services ‐ Medicaid Transportation Reimbursement (decrease of $1,705,557) – Similar to the Child Care
Subsidy revenue described above, the County no longer receives and distributes these funds. Therefore, the revenue
is reduced with a corresponding reduction in expense.
911 Services Revenues ($56,200) – The State of North Carolina assesses a fee on every landline and mobile phone
bill. It then distributes a portion of the revenue from this fee to county and city Public Safety Answering Points
(PSAPs) to maintain a 911 telephone system. The County accounts for this revenue separately from the General
Fund, and the expenses that can be charged to these revenues are limited and prescribed by the State.
The County currently has two positions, a 911 Database Coordinator and a GIS Manager, which are fully paid for by
the General Fund but perform work eligible to be paid out of the State 911 funds. Therefore, 85 percent of the salary
and benefits for the 911 Database Coordinator and 5 percent of the salary and benefits for the GIS Manager are
charged to the 911 Fund and shown as a revenue to the General Fund. These positions must expense specific tasks
they complete in order to receive reimbursement, however these percentages are believed to be conservative
estimates of the time they currently dedicate to eligible tasks.
Elections Fees (decrease of $38,570) – There are no municipal elections scheduled in FY 2018/19. Therefore, this
revenue from the municipalities is not budgeted next year.
Youth Services revenue (decrease of $152,073) – This is due to eliminating the standalone Alternatives to
Commitment Program and the associated revenue from the State, as well as changing how MOE funds pay for Youth
Services’ Substance Abuse Prevention Program. With the Alternatives to Commitment program, the number of
intakes into Juvenile Court decreased approximately 50 percent between FY 2011/12 and FY 2016/17, and this sharp
decline in juvenile offenders eliminated the need for this program. Youth Services has a similar program with NCDPS
to serve this specific juvenile population, but the county did not have the juvenile offender population needed to
fund two programs. With the Substance Abuse Prevention Program, in the past the County has provided Cardinal
Innovations with MOE funding each year, which Cardinal then used a portion of to fund this program. To simplify this
process, the revenue from Cardinal Innovations for this program is eliminated next year and an equivalent expense
reduction is made in the County’s MOE funding for Cardinal as well.
Library Bookmobile Grant (reduction of $100,000) – In the current year, the Library received a Library Services and
Technology Act (LSTA) grant for $100,000 to purchase a new bookmobile. This was a one‐time revenue, and it is
therefore eliminated next year.
Transfer from Landfill Fund ($457,582) – In January 2018, the Board of Commissioners awarded a contract to timber
approximately 259 acres at the County’s Landfill, with the goal of generating revenue for future projects. After
removing the sale expenses and estimated reseeding costs, this sale netted the County $457,582. Since this revenue
was not generated by user fees and is above and beyond the amount required to operate the Landfill, the
Recommended Budget transfers these timber proceeds from Landfill Fund Balance to the General Fund, where they
are budgeted to go into the County’s fund balance.
Interest Earned (increase of Revenue from interest earned is growing significantly due to rising
$105,000) – The county is achieving interest rates and changes in the County's investment strategy.
more revenue in interest earnings in
the current year due to the multiple $200,000
$175,620
increases in the federal funds rate $180,000
approved by the Federal Reserve $160,000 $150,061
Board over the past year (75 basis $140,000
points since March 2017), as well as a $120,000
change in the County's investment $100,000 $83,404
philosophy that has increased its $80,000 $65,536
payment declining each year, these banked proceeds would be drawn down and combined with the yearly‐earned
revenue to meet the annual payment.
Next year the amount needed to make up this planned shortfall is only $83,583, which is an approximately $430,000
reduction from the current year. Following one more year of a projected small shortfall, this dedicated revenue
should be enough to make the debt payment and any excess revenues moving forward can be directed for other
capital projects or debt.
General Insurance Deductible Fund (increase of $679,220) – During the current fiscal year, an accounting change
was made so that the amount charged to each county department for property, liability and vehicle insurance is
transferred to the General Insurance Fund where all related invoices for insurance premiums or deductibles are paid
from. This does not represent a new expense or revenue, but only changes the accounting treatment to mirror the
county's other self‐insured funded programs such as the health insurance and worker's compensation.
One‐Time General Fund Balance Above 18 Percent
At its June 15, 2015 meeting, the Board of Commissioners approved a Fund Balance policy to maintain a prudent level of
financial reserves and to guard citizens against service disruption in the event of unexpected revenue shortfalls or necessary
expenditures. This policy mandated that the County maintain at least a 16 percent in unassigned General Fund fund balance.
Any funds in excess of 18 percent, however, could by drawn down for several purposes. One of these purposes is “one‐time
expenditures that do not increase recurring operating costs that cannot be funded through current revenues”.
The Finance Office estimates there is approximately $950,000 in one‐time fund balance above the 18 percent available for
appropriation with next year’s budget. To fund several one‐time projects described later in this message, $260,700 is
recommended in this additional fund balance. This leaves a balance of approximately $691,000 in these one‐time funds that
could be used for one‐time projects next year or in future years.
EXPENDITURES
Personnel
Position Changes
The Recommended Budget includes funding for only one new position (0.5 FTE), detailed below. This is a significant decrease
from the 9 new Social Services positions approved in the current year’s budget.
1 Part‐Time Public Health Nurse II (20 hours per week) – This position is needed to address an increase in substance
affected infants/newborns in the County. This position will provide the complex care necessary for substance
affected newborns as well as provide referral, coordination, and support services as needed. This position is funded
by Public Health escrow funds (partnership for community care) that were earned in past years and designated for
these programs. These escrow funds, combined with existing revenue streams, will support this position without the
need for County funding for the foreseeable future.
Employee Pay
In FY 2016/17, the County enacted the recommendations of the Springsted Classification and Compensation Study. This
consisted of revamping the County’s existing pay plan, bringing pay ranges in line with comparable jurisdictions, and
providing an increase based on years of service to employees to eliminate salary compression. This was a significant
commitment to the workforce that righted Rockingham County’s employee compensation, thereby improving the ability to
recruit and keep talented employees.
One of the recommendations of the Springsted Study was to “implement the performance evaluation system currently being
developed and provide adequate funding for performance based merit increases awarded on the anniversary date of the
employees hire or promotion.” The County has re‐implemented a performance evaluation system since this time, however
we have not yet implemented any pay increase tied to these performance appraisals. These appraisals offer weighted scores
between 1 and 5 in all areas of job performance, including ethics and integrity, communication, job knowledge, quality of
work, and many others.
Given the significant effort and commitment to fair compensation several years ago, the organizational need to avoid future
salary compression, and the desire to reward employees for good performance, I recommend a 2 percent performance
increase for all permanent employees who score an overall average of 3.25 or above on their annual performance
evaluation, to be awarded on their anniversary date. This performance increase will remain with the employee and not the
position, thereby separating high performing employees from new hires in the same position. Based on performance
evaluation data, approximately 65 percent of rated employees scored an overall of 3.25 or higher in 2017.
Due to offering this merit increase on the employee’s anniversary date, not all who qualify will receive a full year increase.
Therefore, half of the total county net cost (total expense less any revenue available to offset) of this merit increase is
budgeted next year ($312,000), with the full annual net county cost of approximately $624,000 realized in FY 2019/20.
Capital
Funding capital needs (purchases of significant value that have a useful life of greater than one year) is an aspect of the
budget that demands careful consideration during the review process. Some capital needs are predictable based upon
normal life cycles for items like vehicles and computers. Others can be large one‐time expenses such as significant facility
repairs or large technology purchases. It is common to see fluctuations in capital from year to year and many capital requests
are typically not funded. In recent years, I have requested departments present all of their capital needs in an effort to build a
more predictable cycle overall. This in turn allows the County to make the best possible decision on an annual basis rather
than reactively appropriating funds mid‐year.
Departments requested approximately $2.6 million in capital for next year’s General Fund budget. After careful review,
approximately $1.4 million is recommended. Significant capital expenditures affecting the General Fund are discussed below:
Information Technology
Computer/Associated Hardware Replacement ($56,950) – This funding is to maintain the County’s annual desktop
and laptop replacement cycle. This also includes associated items such as monitors and docking stations as
necessary.
Jail Camera System Upgrade ($115,000, paid from one‐time fund balance) – The County began the conversion of
the Jail’s aging analog camera system to a new IP based system in the current year. This amount is to complete the
back‐end conversion, which includes replacing the analog matrix switch that only accepts analog signals. This will
allow future camera replacements to be IP based (currently have 188 total cameras), ensure the reliability of this
critical system, as well as make it supportable and configurable.
Core Infrastructure Replacement ($200,000) – This new funding is recommended to be a continual set‐aside each
year to replace key components of the County’s network infrastructure (servers, switches, power backups, etc). As
Rockingham County increasingly implements front‐facing technology to increase efficiency and do more with less,
the back‐end infrastructure that keeps everything running must be maintained as well. For next year, this set aside
will be used to replace the production servers and storage that virtually runs all County systems. This will allow the
current out‐of‐date system to become a redundant backup and add much needed storage capacity. As a result of
replacing these outdated servers, the County’s service and maintenance will be reduced approximately $40,000 in
future years.
AV Improvements in Board of Commissioners Room ($7,500) – These funds would be used to improve the sound
quality in Board of Commissioner meetings so all citizens in the room can hear what is discussed.
Emergency Medical Services
Two ambulances ($331,290) ‐ This funding will be used to allow EMS to replace two ambulances (one projected to
have 193,000 miles and one projected to have 188,000 miles by the end of this fiscal year). The replacements
include one new ambulance and one remount ambulance as well as a new stretcher and cardiac monitor for the new
ambulance (existing cardiac monitor and stretcher will be saved from the remount).
Sheriff’s Office
Replace Interrogation Room Recording System ($50,000, paid from one‐time fund balance) – The current Sheriff’s
Office interrogation recording system is 7 years old and has reached its end of life. North Carolina general statutes
require law enforcement agencies to have an electronic record of custodial interrogation to eliminate future
disputes. As of early May, this system has stopped working entirely and all interrogations are now being held in the
Reidsville Police Station to remain compliant with the law.
Replace Body Camera System ($80,000, paid from one‐time fund balance) – Body cameras offer a source of
protection for both the officers and the public they serve. The current Sheriff’s Office body camera system is
reaching end of life, and this upgrade is recommended to provide a permanent solution for video storage as well as
enhancement of body cameras themselves. The current storage system for camera footage is not server based and
there are no security roles within the software. Since it is not server based, there have been incidents where hard
drive failure resulted in data being lost that could not be recovered.
Vehicle Replacements
Central Services Kia Rio ($13,500, paid for by one‐time Fund Balance) – Over the past year the County has
dedicated significant resources to thoroughly reviewing all travel requests and directing employees to use County
vehicles whenever possible to avoid travel reimbursements. Central Services currently has four pool vehicles, all
with varying degrees of mechanical issues. Most of these were former front line patrol vehicles, and were therefore
subject to significant wear and tear and frequently have the check engine light on. The recommended vehicle, a Kia
Rio, is more fuel‐efficient than the existing pool cars (32 mpg combined) and comes with a 10‐year powertrain
warranty.
Building Maintenance Ford F‐250 4X4 ($36,480) – This vehicle will replace a 2007 Ford F‐150 that is projected to
have 180,000 miles by the end of this fiscal year. In addition to its mileage, the existing vehicle is 2WD and does not
have a towing package, which limits its use in pulling mowing trailers and traveling to clear county facilities during
inclement weather. The recommended cost also includes the purchase of a service body for storing tools and other
needed equipment.
Emergency Services Administration Dodge Ram ($29,284) – This funding is to replace an existing 2007 Dodge
Durango that is projected to have approximately 193,000 miles at the end of this fiscal year. This vehicle, which was
formerly used by Code Enforcement, has experienced numerous mechanical issues and has a 4” rust hole on the left
rear quarter panel.
Fire Marshal Ford F‐250 ($39,549) – This vehicle is to replace a 2006 Ford F‐250 that is projected to have 206,000
miles by the end of this fiscal year. This funding includes costs for a bed cover, light bar, radio console, and other
associated equipment.
Sheriff’s Office ($268,324) ‐ This will allow the Sheriff’s Office to purchase 9 vehicles to maintain a sustainable
replacement cycle for this critical fleet. 8 of these will go to replace front‐line patrol vehicles, with those replaced
then going to other non‐patrol drivers in the department such as SROs. The remaining vehicle is to replace a
Detectives Narcotics vehicle.
Environmental Health Ford F150 4X4 ($29,663) – This vehicle is recommended to replace a 2001 Dodge Ram that is
in poor mechanical condition and projected to have approximately 175,000 miles by the end of this fiscal year.
Maintaining an active 4X4 vehicle is important for Environmental Health due to regularly driving on muddy lots for
well/septic system inspections.
Social Services ($40,167 total cost, net County cost $20,084) – This adds a 2018 Ford Fusion and 2018 Dodge
Journey to the DSS pool fleet. DSS operates a pool fleet rather than assigning vehicles to specific drivers based on
the nature of their work. Currently, this pool has 8 vehicles that are projected to be over 170,000 miles at the end of
this fiscal year. These two new vehicles will provide additional reliable options for DSS workers, especially those who
are traveling into potentially volatile situations. Note: These two vehicles are budgeted at 50 percent reimbursement
from State/Federal sources.
Significant capital expenditures in other Funds are discussed below as well.
Landfill Fund
Caterpillar Compactor ($800,000) – Compactors are arguably the most important equipment at the County’s
Landfill. These large machines compact trash in the active cells and ensure the most efficient use of space, thereby
extending the Landfill’s life. The Landfill currently has two compactors, one newer 2016 model and one 2003 model.
This older model is no longer reliable, therefore one additional compactor is recommended to ensure a compactor is
available in the event the 2016 model breaks down or is taken out of service for maintenance.
Sheriff’s Office MDT/AVL
To allow for officers to complete reports in the field, access information without the assistance of the 911 Center, and to
improve dispatching capabilities, the Sheriff’s Office requested mobile data terminals and automatic vehicle locators for road
patrol and other key vehicles. The total one‐time cost for this project is $400,000, with the on‐going cost (new position in IT,
software maintenance, etc.) totaling approximately $100,000. While this project is not included in the proposed budget, this
is an area we should continue to explore in the future.
Sheriff’s Office School Resource Officers (SRO’s)
The Rockingham County Sheriff’s office currently employs five school resource officers to serve the schools in the
unincorporated areas of the County. Three of these officers are assigned to the middle and high schools (1 at McMichael High
School, 1 at Rockingham High School, and 1 at Rockingham Middle School), while the remaining two officers rotate within the
County’s 7 elementary and charter schools. To increase the SRO presence in the unincorporated elementary schools, the
Sheriff’s Office requested four additional school resource officers at a total year one expense of $378,172, detailed below:
Item Cost Year 1 Cost Year 2
Salary and Benefits (4) $217,660 $217,660
Uniforms, Equipment, Duty Gear $4,083 $0
Radios (4) $35,600 $0
Vehicle (4) $120,829 $0
Total $378,172 $217,660
School resource officers in all schools has become a topic of discussion at the State and Federal level. The Sheriff’s Office is
currently pursuing several outside funding options possible for these positions. Given the possibility of these funding streams,
these four SRO positions are not included in the Recommended Budget. If in fact funding becomes available, I recommend
the Board of Commissioners consider funding these positions’ salary and benefits at up to 17 percent if necessary to stay in
line with current county funding and not set a precedent of funding SROs at 100 percent.
Cooperative Extension Shared Positions
For the past several years, Rockingham County partnered with Guilford County to share a Livestock Agent position as well as
a Family and Consumer Sciences Agent position. Following employee turnover in these areas, however, Guilford decided to
hire these positions full‐time rather to continue to split. With all surrounding counties already splitting these positions,
Rockingham is left with having to bring these positions to full‐time in house as well.
This occurred with the Livestock Agent position in the current year, and continues next year with the currently vacant Family
and Consumer Sciences Agent position. This position reaches a large number of citizens through programming such as
ServSafe and NC Safe Plates (safe food handling), food preparation and preservation, and healthy lifestyles and disease
reduction. North Carolina State University funds 17 percent of this position, and the Cooperative Extension Director is
hopeful that this outside funding will grow larger in future years.
Emergency Services Budget Changes
In August 2017 the County’s 911 Director, Rodney Cates, was promoted to Emergency Services Director over all divisions of
Emergency Services. To reflect this change, all expenses for this position are moved into the Emergency Services
Administration department from 911 Communications. Additionally, Emergency Services Performance Grant (EMPG) funds
previously accounted for in Emergency Services Administration are moved to their own new cost center. All of these changes
are for transparency and accounting purposes and do not have a net impact on the budget.
Mental Health MOE Funding
NCGS 122C‐115 requires counties to maintain funding for mental health programs. This funding is therefore referred to as
maintenance of effort funding or MOE funding for short. Historically, Rockingham County dedicates $700,000 in MOE funding
annually ‐ $600,000 in dollars and $100,000 as in‐kind for Cardinal Innovation’s use of the County owned Daymark facility. A
portion of these dollars are managed by Cardinal Innovations (the County’s MCO), while the remaining portion is managed by
the County for local programming. For next year, the locally managed portion of this MOE is $268,200. Funds are included in
the budget to support the following programs from this allocation:
Youth Service Substance Abuse Prevention Program ‐ $69,200
Youth Service Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy ‐ $15,000
Sheriff’s Office Stepping Up Program ‐ $60,000
Integrated Health contract employee ‐ $27,000
The remaining $97,000 in locally managed MOE dollars will be dedicated to programs throughout the year such as Narcan kits
for law enforcement, training for EMS paramedics, and DSS placements. The total amounts needed for these programs is not
yet complete, and therefore funding for these efforts will be moved from the Mental Health cost center to the cost center
where they are needed during the year as the programs are finalized.
General Fund Transfers to Water and Sewer Funds
The County operates a water and sewer system, which currently has 452 customers for water and 146 customers for sewer.
Expenses and revenues for this system are accounted for in two enterprise funds, a Water Fund and a Sewer Fund. The goal
of enterprise funds is for the fees charged for service to meet the expenses for providing the service. However, with the small
number of customers currently served and the County still making debt service payments on much of the water and sewer
infrastructure, these Funds require a transfer from the General Fund to balance.
For next year, these transfers from the General Fund total approximately $882,000, which is an $80,000 decrease from the
current year adopted budget. This is due to a combination of declining debt payments, a reduction in capital expenses in the
Water Fund, as well as increasing revenue projections for both water and sewer. It is our hope that as revenues continue to
increase and the debt payments decline, these two Funds will need progressively less money from the General Fund each
year to remain solvent.
Contingency
The Budget includes a contingency amount of $200,000. These funds are used when things occur during the year that cannot
be anticipated and require immediate attention. They also cover items we delay now to address in future years but discover
during the year they have to be addressed earlier than expected.
EDUCATION
Rockingham County Schools
Annual Local Appropriation
The Rockingham County Board of Education
Rockingham County Schools continues to experience declining
requested a 6.3 percent increase ($1,000,000) in enrollment, with its month 6 (latest data) 2017‐18 ADM 11 percent less
its current expense allocation and a 239 percent than the final ADM in 2011‐12.
increase ($2,109,533) in capital outlay funding. I 13,500
am recommending current expense and capital 13,388
outlay funding remain the same as the current 13,000 13,179
13,013
year at $15,834,840 and $882,525 respectively.
12,500 12,807
Lottery Funding Available
12,000 12,296
A portion of the State Lottery proceeds is 11,943
earmarked for schools capital and held by the 11,500
State until it is requested for eligible projects. This
lottery funding has been used in recent years to 11,000
2011‐12 2012‐13 2013‐14 2014‐15 2016‐17 2017‐18
meet existing school’s debt obligations, however (Month 6)
with school’s debt declining, a balance is
beginning to grow at the State level for undertaking projects. While next year’s actual lottery allocation amount is not known,
assuming $800,000 based on past years collections this Lottery balance would be between $1.7 and $1.8 million dollars at the
end of next fiscal year.
Given this growing balance, we requested for School administration to provide a prioritized list of capital projects and
received two projects for consideration (upgraded door locking driveway/parking lot repaving). These projects were just
recently submitted, and therefore only $12,757 of this lottery funding is included in the Recommended Budget to meet the
shortfall between the projected school’s dedicated sales tax and existing schools debt payments. Information on these
requested projects is included in the budget document for consideration.
Rockingham Community College
Rockingham Community College (RCC) requested a 5 percent increase ($108,223) to its current expense allocation and a 438
percent increase ($740,407) to its capital outlay funding. I recommend maintaining both current expense and capital
funding at their current year appropriations of $2,164,473 and 169,091 respectively.
As previously discussed in this message, voters approved a new quarter‐cent local option sales tax in the May 8th primary
election. If this new tax is approved by the Board of Commissioners, all revenue generated will be dedicated exclusively to
Rockingham Community College. With this process not yet complete, however, no new revenue is included in this
Recommended Budget but can be appropriated during the fiscal year by the Board of Commissioners.
FIRE DISTRICTS
Three fire districts requested to increase their fire tax rates, detailed below. All are included in the Recommended Budget.
Draper (increase from $0.05 to $0.07) – Draper is requesting this increase to offset losses from the closing of
MillerCoors, as well as to continue trying to lower their ISO rating. They are currently rated a 6 for residential, which
is the lowest ISO residential rating in the County.
Pelham (initial tax rate ‐ $0.0614) ‐ At its April 17, 2017 meeting, the Board of Commissioners established a new
Pelham Fire Protection Service District. This represents the first tax rate requested by this district, and is requested
at this level to match what the Pelham Fire District receives in Caswell County.
Yanceyville (increase from $0.07 to $0.09) – Yanceyville Road Volunteer Fire Department requests this increase to
replace air bottles nearing their end of life, turnout gear that does not meet NFPA guidelines, and for future
renovations to their fire station.
CONCLUSION
Next year’s budget presented significant challenges as well as significant opportunities. This Recommended Budget maintains
the high quality of service Rockingham County citizens expect, awards employees for good performance, and makes strategic
investments in high priority services, all while maintaining a tax rate that has not increased in nine years. I would like to
thank the Board of Commissioners for providing valuable direction to the staff in the development of this Recommended
Budget, and I look forward to working with each of you to develop a final budget for Fiscal Year 2018/19 that will meet the
service needs and expectations of our citizens and communities.
Respectfully submitted,
Lance L. Metzler, County Manager