The public will get a chance to share its thoughts on the proposed 2015-16 Beaufort County budget on Monday.

The public hearing will take place at 6 p.m. at the County Administrative Offices in Washington, giving residents the opportunity to directly address the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners.

The new budget calls for total General Fund appropriations in the amount of $57,480,817, an amount that dips into existing funds by $1,077,865.
The budget also calls for a 2-percent cost of living wage increase for county employees, as well as a .5-percent increase in county contributions to non-law enforcement county employees’ 401Ks.

While ad valorem tax rates will remain unchanged in the new budget, effective July 1, county water rates will increase by 3 percent across all water districts, a step taken to provide funds for increasing count debt service payments slated for 2017. The issue was discussed during the commissioners’ May 26 budget workshop, in which Public Works Director Christina Smith recommended the incremental increase that would add approximately $1 a month to every water bill. In a straw vote, all seven commissioners voted in favor of the increase.

During Monday’s hearing, the Board will also decide on adding three new positions to the Beaufort County Department of Social Services: a social worker supervisor and two social workers. The DSS request comes in response to a backlog of increased applications — without the new positions, Beaufort County is at risk of non-compliance with state and federal standards and could lose state funding, according to interim County Manager Ken Windley’s remarks in Monday’s agenda. North Carolina is one of five states given a warning by the federal government because processing delays have prevented applicants from receiving benefits in a timely manner.

While speakers can still sign up to address the Board at Monday’s public hearing, as of Friday afternoon only one speaker was on the list: Beaufort County Republican Party Chairman Keith Kidwell.

Kidwell said he will be addressing general use of county taxpayers’ money — as a taxpayer, he believes the public should have input on how its money should be spent.

“Our local government needs to remember that this money comes from people who work hard and would like to keep as much of their money as possible, and it should be spent only on necessary expenses,” Kidwell said.

To sign up to speak at the public hearing, call the County Administrative Offices at 252-946-0079. The office is located at 121 W. Third St., Washington.