An unusually large crowd showed up to Monday's County Commission meeting, with nearly all seats in the Patsy H. Sadler Room filled. This was an unusually long meeting with presentations from a number of guest speakers.

Here are a few highlights:

The County Commissioners also heard a presentation from Vincent Valuations about the 2026 property revaluation project. Tax law in Pamlico County calls for property values to be updated every six years. The purpose of the revaluation is to distribute the overall property tax burden equitably based on current market value of homes, raw land, and other real property types. 

When asked if he had any examples of property value adjustments that showed a decrease, the speaker said that, while one was not impossible, he did not.

The amount property taxes will increase is as yet unknown. The Board of Commissioners have the option to lower the tax rate to a "revenue neutral rate" to offset the probable increase in values.

There will be a public hearing about the property tax changes on October 20th, 2025.

Pamlico County offers pay raises to county employees who complete certifications relevant to their positions. Six percent raises for two employees were approved during Monday's meeting.

Water department employee Cody VanHook received a raise for passing his Cross-Connection exam. Alexia Cayton of the Health Department received a raise for passing her Registered Environmental Health Specialist (REHS) exam.

County Commissioners say the pay increase policy is an incentive to increase the capabilities of Pamlico County employees. 

Dr. Jeremy Johnson was back again to make a case for replacing Fred Anderson Elementary School with a new building to bring all students to Pamlico County Primary School. Commissioners heard reports of mold and water damage in classrooms, persistent high humidity owing to an aging HVAC system, and limited usable restroom facilities.

Dr. Johnson proposes paying for construction of a new building with a $34 million grant. The grant requires the county to produce a 5% match, which would come to $1.7 million. Dr. Johnson is confident that the match can be paid for through a combination of refunds and sales tax rebates. 

The commissioners voted unanimously in favor of allowing the grant application to go forward. 

County Sheriff Chris Davis made a presentation on potential improvements to health services at the Pamlico County Jail. Pamlico County currently contracts with Southern Health Partners to provide health services for inmates that include STD test, tuberculosis shots and other health needs.

The Sheriff's department is exploring options to improve care and cut costs. They have recently learned they can cut out of pocket costs by billing care to Medicaid, Medicare, and, when possible, inmates' own health insurance policies. Additionally, opioid settlement funds can be used to create a facility for on-site care through the county Health Department. 

The proposed plan will add a new healthcare provider to the Health Department. It will also allow the jail to keep more funding local by using local pharmacies.

Kevin Leonard, Executive Director of the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) gave a presentation on the benefits of joining this group. NCACC helps member county commissions through advocacy, networking, research and training, and technical assistance. 

Mr. Leonard highlighted benefits his association has gotten for counties in North Carolina. These include securing additional Medicaid funds for local government Emergency Medical Services (EMS), recovering debts, and helping counties utilize Opioid Settlement funds. 

He says that he anticipates future advocacy in areas that include changes to SNAP and Medicaid. Eligibility rule changes at the federal level may contribute to additional, unfunded costs at the county level. His organization aims to advocate for counties like ours to reduce the impact of these changes.

At the current time, Pamlico County handles functions like budgeting, payroll and water bills through  an enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform called Munis. Alex Showalter spoke to the board about adopting a new system called OpenGov. He says the new software will make it easier to track finances, prevent county employees from having to duplicate work, and give more transparency when it comes to county funding and overall operations. The system will also replace the current utility billing software.

OpenGov will cost $53,000 more per year than the current system. However, since this software increases in cost by 5% compared to Munis's 5.7%, the cost difference will eventually disappear. Additionally, Mr. Showalter says the cost can be covered through grant reimbursements.

The new system will also offer additional functionality to Pamlico County residents. They will be able to review the water and sewer bills online, as well as set up automatic payments via credit card.

The new system will have automatic functions that can also save some customers money on their water bill through leak detection. The software will be able to detect irregular water usage and issue an alert.