2006 Recommended Budget Emphasizes Education, Public Safety, Human Services

The recommended fiscal year 2005-06 budget does not raise taxes, maintains the County's commitment to education by increasing funding to the Wake County Public School System and provides for new facilities to serve the County's rapidly growing population.

County Manager David Cooke presented a recommended budget of $805.9 million to the Board of Commissioners today that is 6.2% larger than the fiscal 2004-05 budget (the fiscal year is July 1 – June 30). Some of the highlights of the budget include:

• Accounts for an increase in revenues of $46.7 million.
• Maintains the existing property tax rate of 60.4 cents per $100 of valuation.
• Provides additional funds to the Wake County Public Schools, Wake Technical Community College, Human Services and the Sheriff's Office.
• Recommends 198 new positions, 146 of which are necessary to operate new facilities, including the Hammond Road Detention Center and new libraries. 

The Board will hold public hearings on June 6 and a work session on June 13 before considering the budget for adoption on June 20.

As proposed by Cooke, the budget totals $805.9 million, a 6.2% increase over the fiscal 2004-05 budget. The recommended budget contains no tax rate increase, maintaining this year's rate of 60.4 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.

Cooke credited the budget's solid fiscal foundation to the coordinated work of County Commissioners, County staff and many community partners and noted that it reflects "our relentless focus on balancing our most important issues, as our community grows daily and progresses into the future."

"In short, the FY 2006 Recommended Budget reflects Wake County's attention to priorities, partnerships and progress," Cooke said.

Cooke noted that FY 2005 has been very good for Wake County in many ways, with the economy rebounding and the tax base growing along with the population and development. "We will meet or exceed our budget goals for FY 2005 and have placed ourselves in a strong financial position for the future," he said, adding that next year, County revenues will increase by $46.7 million without a tax increase.

Cooke said growth in property and sales taxes, which account for 72.2% of the County's General Fund revenues, added $38.1 million of new revenues to the recommended budget. The increase was due to an increase in new property valuations, with no tax rate increase, as well as strong economic recovery as evidenced by sales tax.

Most of the new revenue, Cooke said, will go to open new facilities, support a higher level of funding for the Wake County Public School System ($12.3-million increase, or 5.2%) and Wake Technical Community College ($12.8-million increase, or 11.1%), and, as Cooke also noted, a $5.9-million increase in transfers to debt and the capital program.

A $15.1-million increase to the Human Services budget will be offset by a revenue increase of $10.5 million, due mainly to contracts for Medicaid-reimbursable services. Also, a new detention facility on Hammond Road, known as Phase 1B, is driving an increase in the Sheriff's budget. The facility, slated to open in March 2006, will house an additional 416 inmates and will add 112 positions to the Sheriff's staff, including seven new medical positions to meet increasing medical needs in the jails. The partial-year impact on the budget is $3 million.

The recommended budget also provides funds for additional staffing for an expanded Cameron Village Library and to open West Regional Library in Cary and for a future Holly Springs Community Library.

The FY 2006-2012 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) totals $1.44 billion, with FY 2006 accounting for $284 million of those expenditures. This seven-year plan, which is funded by 16.5 cents of property and sales taxes, invests heavily in education, for both the Wake County Public School System and Wake Technical Community College, and includes funding for an inpatient psychiatric hospital, computer system upgrades, improvements in detention security at the Public Safety Center, and improvements and maintenance at County parks and joint community-use/school parks.

The proposed budget also funds a pay-for-performance increase of 4% for County employees and covers the County's share of health insurance, which increases by 10%, or $2.3 million.

"Significant growth in revenue has helped put Wake County in a strong financial position, but it is long-term planning that allows us to take full advantage of these resources and use taxpayer dollars efficiently," Cooke said. "By progressing in these, and other areas, Wake County will continue to be nationally recognized as a great place to live, conduct business, get and education and enjoy a high quality of life."