By Sarah Campbell
scampbell@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY — After a stalemate a week ago, the Rowan County Board of Commissioners adopted the fiscal year 2012-13 budget in less than 30 minutes this morning.
The general fund spending plan was passed 3-2, with commissioner Jim Sides and vice-chairman Carl Ford casting the dissenting votes.
The county’s property tax rate will hold steady at 62.25 cents per $100 valuation.
Commissioner Jon Barber asked the board to consider a quarter cent decrease, but the motion died without support from anyone else on the board.
Vice Chairman Ford said he’d like to see the property tax fall by a penny.
“If we’re going to cut, let’s cut and give taxpayers a break,” he said.
Per-pupil funding will increase by $22 following the board’s decision to hold school funding steady.
County Manager Gary Page had proposed cutting about $481,000 in education spending due to a drop of 308 students. That decrease would put the school system on par with the state average.
Commissioner Jim Sides proposed adding back $250,000 to be used strictly for classroom supplies, but that motion failed with only the support of Vice Chairman Ford.
Barber’s motion to add the entire $481,000 back to the budget was passed with Chairman Chad Mitchell and Commissioner Raymond Coltrain voting in favor.
Page said the decision means schools will receive $1,587 per student, up from $1,565.
The budget also includes graduated pay raises for county employees.
Those with one to five years of service will receive a 1 percent raise. A 1.5 percent raise will be given to employees with five to 10 years. Employees with 10 to 15 years of service will receive a 2 percent raise. And a 2.5 percent increase will be given to employees with 15 or more years of service.
The original budget only called for raises for employees with at least three years of service.
The decision to cut Rescue Squad funding from $400,000 to $350,000 was made last week.
Read the complete story in Tuesday’s Post.