Meeting Notes

We added basic notes about county government meetings to our coverage. If you have additional story ideas, please send them to reporter and photographer Eleazar “El” Yisrael at (252) 258-9434 or [email protected]

The Pamlico County Board of Commissioners held a regular bimonthly meeting June 2, 2025. On June 16, commissioners will hold a public hearing for the budget with the possibility of voting on the budget that night. The deadline to approve the budget is June 30.

Mark Brewington, Pamlico’s County Manager, presented the tentative final budget that is subject to change for the next fiscal year (FY 2025-2026):

• The revenue that the county intends to collect is $24,845,407. The expenses that the county recommends for the next year’s budget is $26,976,604. The difference is intended to be paid by the county’s fund balance in the amount of $2,131,197.

  • Pamlico County’s General Fund (GF Cash), or the money that is in the savings account, is $11 million with an additional $1.9 million set aside for the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

  • Revenue includes taxes (property, sales,) collected and investment balance revenue.

• Tax rate remains at $.645/$100. No proposed tax increase at this moment.

• Significant changes compared to previous year (FY 24-25):

  • Ad valorem tax or property tax budgeted at $13,948,000 ($634,804 more than 2024-’25).

  • Sales Tax budgeted at $4,850,000; $270K more than 2024-’25.

  • Jail lease bed fees budgeted at $1.1M ($206,000 less than what is was for the FY 2024-’25)

  • Sheriff’s Office vehicle purchase budgeted at $440,000 for 6 vehicles.

  • State’s Medicaid Hold Harmless of $200K budgeted ($25K more than FY 2024-’25)

    • North Carolina’s Medicaid Hold Harmless program makes sure counties don’t lose money when the state took over paying for Medicaid and counties gave up some sales tax revenue. If a county ends up with less money because of this, the state pays them the difference to keep their budgets stable.

  • Pamlico Community College funding decreased by about $45,787.

  • Employees receive 2.5% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) to account for inflation.

  • County building inspector office gets a $45,000 new vehicle for job use.

  • Rescue Squad Funding decreased by $97,250 yearly in the new contract. Subject to change.

    

• The Sheriff Department/Jail requested about $1.8 million in capital expenses. County plans to allocate $526,478 to the Sheriff/jail. The Sheriff’s Department/jail runs on the largest budget in the county.

  • Capital requests/allocations include body cameras, jail mezzanine, commercial washing machines, and more. The biggest request was for eight new police cars in the amount of $649,716. The county plans to allocate six new police cars in the amount of $440,000.

    

• Notable changes in outside agency funding:

  • Library planned appropriation increased 14% in the amount of $323,458 for the 24-25 FY to $370,000 for FY 25-26. This was due to the operation of the new library building that the county will soon own.

  • 3% increase in planned allocations for Pamlico Schools’ expenses. Went from approx. $4.7 million to $4.8 million.

  • A 7% decrease in funding allocation for the Rescue Squad. Appropriation was approx. $1.4 million and now is allocated for $1.3 million.

• Tax Value and Levy (Revenues to be collected):

  • The county's tax value including personal, public service, real estate, and Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) totals to $2.3 billion dollars.

    • The largest tax value was the county’s property tax, totaled at almost $2 billion.

  • Net Levy, or taxes billed to be collected, is approx. 14 million.

  • The tax rate is $.645 per every $100.

  • Collection percentage is the projected amount of taxes that will be collected.

  • 50% of the county’s budget comes from taxes collected.

• County proposed and approved Ambulance Franchise Agreement.

  • It’s a legal agreement between the county and Rescue Squad that they do from time to time, not uncommon.

Consent Agenda (routine items to voted on and usually don’t require discussion):

• Approved Croaker Festival’s fireworks display schedule.

• Approved Camp Seagull’s fireworks display schedule.

• Approved Floodplain Development permit, which is the county’s building inspections for floodplain zones.

  • “Prior to now, there has not been a Floodplain Development Permit mainly due to staffing and ability to incorporate the review and processing of the permit with the building permit application.”

• Approved FY 24-25 Budget Amendments, authorized by county Finance Officer and county manager.

  • “In order to close out the 2024-2025 fiscal year, budget amendments are necessary to keep accounts in balance.”

  • Commissioners gave permission to the finance officer and county manager to make amendments to the current budget until June 30th.

Correspondence Agenda (discussion required and are not routine):

• Approved expense for additional building onto the new EOC/911 building beside the courthouse in Bayboro.

  • “The change order requested is for an additional four inches of stone, Curb Extension and placement of side road gate entrance. The change is needed to move large vehicles into the building and out of the back storage area. The cost of the change order is $16,830 and is covered under the building contingency funds.”

• Approved lease agreement for Craven-Pamlico Regional Library.

  • New draft with changes made in the previous commissioners meeting was approved and signed off by the library and county (contingent upon county lawyer review) for the lease agreement regarding the new county library building.

• Approved Sewer District-Bay River Project.

  • Approve budget ordinance for Bay River Metro Sewer while working on a sewer project in Oriental, called “Phase 1 – Project EMA-2022-DR-001-004.”

• Approved Imagine Pamlico request:

  • 501(c)(3) Imagine Pamlico wants to send a letter to the army corps of engineers to give them permission to do analysis on middle school to find a solution to the school being in a flood zone. The county is writing and endorsing the letter. Imagine Pamlico is hoping to turn the middle school into a historical designation once the new school is built in the county and the middle school is closed.

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