Murphy – Cherokee County’s most powerful elected officials were on their best manners May 15 during discussions over money.
The board of commissioners met with the board of education and Sheriff Dustin Smith during a workshop at the Cherokee County Courthouse to go over budget numbers. The county is in the middle of planning for the 2024-25 fiscal year budget.
County Manager Randy Wiggins proposed a $62.8 million budget that features no increase to the property tax millage rate of 61 cents as well as no fee increases, except for GIS Mapping service fees.
Human services – including public health and the Department of Social Services – account for 26 percent of the county budget at $15.6 million. The May 15 workshop focused on the next two largest chunks of the budget – education and public safety.
Education is the county’s second-largest expense at $8.8 million, with public safety third at $16 million.
Sheriff
Smith was concerned that printers and two vehicles he requested were not included in the county manager’s budget proposal.
One of the vehicles would be used for animal control, while the other would be used to transport prisoners. The printers – about $12,000 for 10 of them – are needed to print citations, Smith said.
The sheriff’s list also includes money for uniforms – he said the $16,500 Wiggins recommended won’t be enough – and protective vests, which are fitted to individual deputies, have expiration dates and cost about $1,200 per vest.
The sheriff’s office and jail employ 76 full- and part-time employees.
Chief financial officer Candy Anderson said there will be money unspent from the sheriff’s 2023-24 budget that can be rolled over to the next year. The budget also funds seven new vehicles on top of three that were just added to the current budget.
Smith warned the board that it will need to pay for medical care for both police dogs in the sheriff’s office. One dog has allergies and is on a special diet, while the other dog accidentally cut himself on a food dish and suffered nerve damage, necessitating surgery in the near future.
Smith also argued for adjustments to the pay scale for deputies. Sheriff’s Capt. David Williams said he gets paid less than a new N.C. Highway Patrol recruit just going through training. Both warned about the difficulties of retaining a force without competitive pay.
“We really need to help these deputies,” Williams said.
“The real hard ask is how to fund it,” Wiggins said, adding that going beyond the 2 percent cost-of-living increase in his proposed budget would result in higher taxes.
Wiggins also vetoed a vehicle requested by the jail to transport deputies to and from the hospital when inmates are present, and to transport prisoners to and from outside the county.
Schools
The board of education also appeared before the board of commissioners but, unlike the sheriff’s budget, the school district’s costs are largely dictated by the state budget, which is still months away from being finalized.
School employees can expect 3 percent raises for non-certified employees and 5 percent for certified employees, such as teachers and counselors. Retirement funding may also change.
These state-mandated school decisions come with state funding, but don’t compensate the county for its share of the increases, or any decisions affecting locally funded positions the school district may make to keep them, even with state-funded jobs.
School officials said there will be turnover in a variety of school positions, which is common for this time of the year. School officials know about two principal positions, six retirements for certified positions, nine resignations for certified positions and 10 non-certified departures.
Cherokee County Schools has an enrollment of about 3,100 pupils.
The school district also budgeted $185,000 for two athletic trainers overseen by a physician to serve at Andrews and Murphy high schools. The contract is with Erlanger Health Care System.