Moore County Commissioners reviewed the fiscal year (FY) 2026 recommended $237,227,662 balanced budget at the May 21 agenda meeting. County Manager Wayne Vest presented the recommended budget to the commissioners.
The budget proposes reducing the property tax rate from 31 cents to 29.5 cents per $100 of valuation, resulting in a 1.5-cent decrease.
Vest noted that in FY 2020, Sandhills Community College faced a $20 million debt, and county schools faced $300 million debt from construction requiring a .51 cent tax rate.
The FY 2026 General Fund budget totals $158.7 million, with the largest portion, 40.06% at $63.6 million, allocated to education, including related debt. Public Safety receives 16.44% ($26.1 million), followed by general government at 14.99% ($23.8 million), and health and human services at 13.53% ($21.5 million). Environmental programs account for 7.66% ($12.2 million), while non-education debt is 3.33% ($5.3 million). Smaller allocations include non-departmental (2.67%) and cultural (1.31%).
Education, safety, and health and human services use 70% of the General Fund.
General Fund total debt service is $22,737,288.
The proposed budget has a .0375 per $100 valuation for Advanced Life Support. It proposes keeping the same .0875 rate for Rural Fire Protection as last year.
Review the proposed budget here.
Following the 10 a.m. June 3 required public hearing at the East Moore Water District Board of Directors meeting, commissioners are expected to adopt the proposed FY 2026 budget at the June 5 special board meeting, which begins at 9:45 a.m.
In new business, commissioners approved a $1,950,000 school lottery fund drawing for the new Carthage Elementary School. The allocation leaves a balance of over $4 million.
Using a prototype architectural drawing should save 25%.
Real estate agents are investigating three locations for the new Carthage Elementary School.
In other school concerns, commissioners tabled an official request from The Academy of Moore Charter School for $490,000.
Chair Kurt Cook highly recommended the charter elementary school.
Other commissioners voiced concerns that funding the charter school would become a funnel for taxpayers’ money and drive interest in more charter schools.
Commissioner Tom Adams questioned if the county would fund upcoming requests for other charter schools.
Commissioner John Ritter said funding charter schools served the public with good and more affordable education, even if it increased school funding costs, because the students in charter schools would decrease overcrowding in existing public schools.
Until public schools improve, people will favor private and charter schools, according to Commissioner Jim Von Canon.
Vice Chair Nick Picerno recommended placing the proposal on next month’s agenda for voting.
Eagle Springs Fire Chief Mike St. Onge requested financial assistance for the $2.1 million expansion and renovation of the Eagle Springs Fire Service Department Building in progress.
In phase one, the building doubled with meeting, day, and sleeping rooms added to the rear of the building.
In phase two, they will build new truck bays and storage areas to supply EMS services, with completion expected by the end of July.
St. Onge applied for a 1% interest rate loan through Randolph Electric and received approval for a $360,000 loan over 10 years.
“But that doesn’t mean we will still get the remainder of that $800,000…So, what we really need right now is $440,000,” St. Onge said about using Fund 258 on Fire Capital Reserves.
Vest said he recommended the Randolph Electric loan and using Fund 258.
The commissioners approved St. Onge’s proposal to allocate $440,000 from Fund 258 for the renovations.
~Written by Sandhills Sentinel journalist Stephanie M. Sellers. Stephanie is also an English instructor at Central Carolina Community College. She is the author of When the Yellow Slugs Sing, Sky’s River Stone, GUTTERSNIPE: Shakespearean English Stage Play with Translation, Amagi, Amagi Study Guide, and EZ Essay Study Guide for Holocaust: A History.
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