TITLE
Title
FISCAL YEAR 2024-25 YEAR-END BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS
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SPONSOR
Sponsor
Michael Halford, County Manager
Toy Beeninga, Budget and Management Services
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BACKGROUND
Background
The North Carolina Fiscal Control Act requires a County to adopt a budget ordinance and remain within funding levels outlined within the ordinance. At the end of each fiscal year, Section 9-B of the budget ordinance authorizes the County Manager to transfer personnel funds to account for lapsed salaries, which are pre-budgeted savings from staff vacancies. Some departments, however, may not fully achieve their lapsed salary targets due to lower-than-expected vacancies. These transfers help manage overall salary spending across departments and maintain compliance with the Fiscal Control Act. This occurs every year and is a routine part of overall budget monitoring at the end of the fiscal year.
This year, to avoid separate notifications which may be confusing, the County is presenting these Manager transfers to the Board as part of broader year-end adjustments, including funding the mid-year law enforcement pay increase approved by the Board at the September 5, 2024 Work Session and address additional operating needs within the Sheriff's Office budget for jail medical services.
In September, the Board approved adjustments to move Deputy Sheriff and Detention Officer pay to the 60th percentile of the respective market rates. The estimated FY2024-25 cost was $4.6 million, of which $2 million was supported by the County’s annual compensation maintenance allocation. The remaining $2.6 million was expected to be offset by:
· $1 million in reduced overtime from filling 50 vacant positions, and
· $1.6 million in salary savings from across the organization.
Since implementation, vacancies have remained largely unchanged (decreasing from 111 to 109), and overtime savings have not materialized. In fact, due to higher pay rates, overtime costs have increased. As a result, the Sheriff...
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