Union County approves budget; school board does not get everything it wanted

Union County commissioners approved their 2015-16 budget Monday night, but they did not give the school board everything it wanted.

It’s unclear whether that will lead to another round of costly litigation between the two boards. The school board has seven days from the budget’s adoption to indicate whether it will start the process for mediation, the step required before a lawsuit, if it is unhappy with the budget.

In a 3-2 vote, commissioners adopted their $352 million total operating budget. Right before starting debate, they amended their agenda and went into a 50-minute closed session with their attorneys.

“This is a very complex, thought-out budget,” board chair Richard Helms said during the half-hour public discussion.

Overall, Union County’s tax rate is set to rise from 76.14 to 77.65 cents per $100 of valuation. That’s a 2 percent increase in the rate.

But the average tax bill will actually decrease by about $35 for many residents because property values in general decreased after a recent countywide revaluation, county officials said.

Some 69 percent of residential property owners saw a decrease in assessed value.

Commissioner Lance Simpson said he was concerned about the impact the tax rate would have on people who did not see a decline in property value. He voted against the budget, as did commissioner Frank Aikmus.

The tax rate increase is a far cry from last year’s big hike where commissioners approved a 15.4 percent tax increase to cover school district expenses, the first tax hike approved by commissioners in seven years.

In the new budget, the school board wanted $104 million in operating expenses, a 20 percent increase over the current year. Commissioners approved $91.9 million, a 5 percent increase.

For capital needs, the school district sought nearly $20 million, a slight increase over the current level. Commissioners approved $16.6 million.

Separately, the school board is seeking nearly $158 million to go before voters in a bond referendum for renovations, additions or new schools. Commissioners need to approve putting such a referendum on the ballot at another meeting.

The budget vote comes just a few weeks after the school district moved to end its lawsuit over funding for the 2013-14 budget. The district won a $91 million judgment from a jury, which the N.C. Court of Appeals unanimously overturned in April, then rejected the school board’s rehearing request.

Legal fees between the two boards recently topped $2 million, an Observer review of public records shows.

Wary of the potential for another lawsuit, commissioners voted in May to spend up to $100,000 for a Charlotte law firm to represent them if the school board sues over the budget again.

This story was originally published June 29, 2015 at 10:19 PM with the headline "Union County approves budget; school board does not get everything it wanted."