Guilford County will substantially increase support for schools, first responders, and critical services with the passage of the Fiscal Year 2023 (FY2023) budget by the Board of Commissioners (Board) at the Thursday, June 16, 2022 meeting.
“Our residents are clear about their priorities for investing the county’s tax dollars and this budget reflects our community’s many and diverse voices,” said Board of Commissioners Chair Melvin “Skip” Alston. “This budget supports $2 billion in voter approved bond investments for better schools and also implements the One Guilford Action Plan by funding the county’s work to maintain safe neighborhoods, improve wellbeing, and give each resident the opportunity to build a strong future in Guilford County for themselves and their families.”
The Board of Commissioners, through regular meetings and interactions with community members, also received input from thousands of Guilford County residents through a series of community surveys, conversations, and focus groups looking at the pandemic’s impact on the county and priorities for investment. The budget prioritizes funding to sustainably address the community’s school capital responsibilities, ensure the county has the staffing capacity to provide excellent service & outcomes, and improve the County’s financial position & fiscal resilience.
In adopting the FY2023 budget, the Board of Commissioners made several changes to the Manager’s Recommended Budget including adding $3.2 million to the county’s allocation for Guilford County Schools with the intention to boost supplement pay for Principals and Assistant Principals; $0.2 million to support nonprofit agencies, including Greensboro’s Cure Violence program; and $3.5 million in county and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to enhance county employee benefits to address widespread recruiting and retention challenges by:
- Providing an automatic 5% 401(k) contribution to all non-sworn benefit eligible employees and continuing the current automatic 5% 401(k) contribution to sworn officers.
- Reinstating the longevity pay system as a strategy to retain top talent, and
- Increasing retention bonuses for detention services and emergency services positions, including expanding retention bonuses to additional positions within Detention Services and Emergency Services
- An increase of $82.7 million for education to support the operating, capital maintenance, and debt needs of Guilford County Public Schools and Guilford Technical Community College.
- A total investment of $254.8 million for Guilford County Schools, including:
- $244.2 million to support operations, a $19.2 million increase over the FY2022 adopted budget, which is the largest one-year increase for school funding.
- $10 million for school capital outlay, a $6 million increase over FY2022, to address on-going school capital maintenance.
- $19.7 million for Guilford Technical Community College, a $1.6 million increase over FY2022 for operating and capital needs.
- $50 million for future education capital needs based on the $1.7 billion voter approved bond referendum passed on May 17, 2022. This $50 million increase will begin to fund Guilford County’s School’s known school facility needs to implement the school capital master plan. The county intends to provide a $50 million annual investment for education capital needs moving forward.
- 55 new positions in county government to serve families, veterans, and people with behavioral health needs, and to improve timely inspections and prepare for major economic development opportunities. Many positions are partially or fully funded by federal and/or state dollars. In total, the County has about 5.3 positions for every 1,000 residents, one of the lowest staffing ratios in the state.
- Continuing efforts to align the County’s compensation structure to current labor market trends
- Demonstrates a commitment to sound fiscal management by reducing the County’s reliance on its savings to balance the budget by $3.4 million. This strengthens the County’s financial position and enhances its ability to manage through emergencies and maintain service delivery, regardless of the economic climate or outside factors.
- The adopted budget keeps the county’s property tax rate even at 0.7305 cents per $100 of assessed property value. Following reappraisal, at the median home value, a homeowner will pay an additional $418 per year or $35 per month in general property tax.
In addition, at Thursday’s meeting the Board also approved allocating $98,000 from the county’s $104 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to expand an eviction court clinic that supports people facing an eviction to two days per week in both High Point and Greensboro and to improve landlord engagement.
The eviction clinic is a partnership between Guilford County, the City of Greensboro, Legal Aid North Carolina, and the UNC Greensboro Center for Housing and Community Services with support from the Chief District Court Judge and Chief Magistrate. It provides legal representation, mediation services, and help with rental assistance applications right outside Small Claims eviction court. The program offers services to both tenants and landlords with a goal of helping residents avoid an eviction judgement and remain in their homes. The ARPA funding will also support a Landlord Engagement Specialist to help increase landlord involvement in addressing the need for low-income housing and knowledge of the County’s rental assistance program.
Fiscal Year 2023 begins July 1, 2022 and runs through June 30, 2023. The approved FY2023 budget will be available on the Guilford County website on Friday. With the FY2023 budget set, the county now turns its attention to allocating the remaining ARPA funds as well as planning for investments from the county’s portion of the opioid settlement agreement.
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