Johnston County officials have set the tentative dates for public hearings and meetings on the proposed $201 million 2015-16 fiscal year budget from County Manager Rick Hester.
The $201 million proposal is about $6 million more than the adjusted 2014-15 budget, however it keeps the 78 cents property tax rate unchanged.
The budget includes $54,233,000 for the public school system, an increase of $1,073,000 over the 2014-15 budget, but still about $6 million less than what the Johnston County School Board requested from Commissioners on May 12th of $60,252,483.
Johnston Community College had requested $4,600,000 in funding for the new fiscal year. Hester’s proposal falls just $5,000 short at $4,595,000.
The budget includes a 2.25% pay adjustment for county employees as well as funds to pay for an internal pay classification review with a target implementation date of November 1st.
Eight new positions are included. Five are for public utilities, two for 911 Communication and one for the Register of Deeds office. Four of the 5 positions for public utilities are proposed to startJan. 1, 2016.
A public hearing on the budget will be held on Monday, June 1st at 10am. Commissioners will hold budget meetings on Monday, June 8th and Monday, June 22nd at 6pm both days. And a special meeting is expected to be set for Monday, June 29th at 8:15am to formally adopt the budget.
