Charles City Board of Supervisors hear budget options to consider possible school employee raises; public hearing recessed to May 20

After comments were made at Charles City’s School Board meeting about not receiving additional financial support to assist with raises for teachers, Charles City’s Board of Supervisors began addressing the topic at the May 13 budget public hearing.

Charles City County Administrator Michelle Johnson commented during her rehash of the budget presentation of $9,126,683 locally to operate in the FY2021-22 fiscal year. Among recommendations made by the county administrator include the addition of four full-time employees, a performance-based raise for county employees (capped at three percent), the addition of one full-time firefighter, two patrol vehicles, and additional funding for fire and EMS vehicles.

Johnson turned her attention to the school’s budget request. Citing a May 11 Chronicle story about teachers’ salaries, the county administrator elaborated on the figures.

“The schools total requested budget is $6,4000,472 and we recommended $5,850,089,” she said, pointing to the difference of $550,383. “I received calls and messages and was asked about the budget and pointed out that the superintendent’s recommendations to adjust the budget is from the requested additional funds. We are not cutting their funding.

“The schools assumed that by decreasing their CIP [Capital Improvement Plan] by $425,500 that it would be automatically given back to them,” Johnson continued. “That’s not the case. That’s where the breakdown of communication lies.”

Johnson continued, pointing that the proposed funding for schools is $150,000 more than their current year. She added that the board of supervisors also covered a projected shortfall of $195,000 due to the school’s ADM (average daily membership) being below what was projected.

The county administrator continued, pointing to an agreement the schools entered into with ABM.

“That’s a commitment that the schools put the board of supervisors in,” Johnson commented. “This year we will have to pay $250,926 to debt service on that contract.

“Even though the schools will save $49,000 this year, we still have to pay on debt service each year for the next 15 years,” she added.

District 2 representative and vice-chairman Bill Coada interjected, asking when the schools would actually see a true savings.

“From my projections, it will be around year eight,” he said. “But we’re paying on this contract for at least 15 years and it will be close to $500,000 by the time it ends.”

Johnson responded, saying that projections would cover the latter years of the contract and savings, but that they were only projections.

Coada questioned about the one percent raise in the school’s revised budget.

“From my understanding, if the school only offers this one percent raise, they wouldn’t receive any state funding correct?” the District 2 representative questioned. “What percent do they need to reach to receive that funding?”

Finance director Abbey Pemberton responded that a two-percent contribution from the locality would be required at a minimum for the state to provide funds for raises for SOQ [Standards of Quality] employees.

Johnson returned to the microphone, saying that separate conversations between her and both board members led to her deciphering numbers on what it’d take to provide employees raises. If SOQ employees wanted a five-percent raise, the county would need to find $234,068. For a three-percent raise, approximately $161,000 would need to be located in the FY2021-22 budget.

Johnson tossed some options of consideration for county leaders on how this would occur. Option one would see the postponement of renovations the visitor center, the Parrish Hill school project, and postpone county employee raises. Option two would see the postponement of renovations to the visitor’s center, reduce county raises from three percent to one percent, see funding from special events reduced, and reducing the general fund contingency to just under $5,000. Option three, the choice that considers a three percent increase to teachers, would require renovation postponements to the visitor’s center, postponement of the Parrish Hill school project, and reduce employee raises from three percent to two percent.

After hearing the options, both Coada and District 1 representative Gilbert Smith agreed that some time of work was needed to the visitor’s center. They also agreed that county employees needed a raise because they did not receive one in the previous year.

But prior to any further discussion, a scheduled public budget hearing had to be postponed due to technical difficulties. County leaders recessed the meeting until May 20, hoping to have all issues resolved. They are also planning to open the meeting room to the public barring no setbacks.