Board Chairman Vernon Bryant cautioned during a nearly four-hour budget work session Monday night nothing has been made official and commissioners will continue to deliberate and craft a financial plan for the upcoming fiscal year.

Should commissioners go with this recommendation it would mean the county's tax rate would go from 73 cents per $100 of a valuation to 79.5 cents, County Manager Tony Brown said.

The recommendation would provide $1,238,127 in additional funding for school capital and current expense with the following appropriations:

Halifax Community College: $204,100

Halifax County Schools: $262,000

Roanoke Rapids Graded School District: $265,000

Weldon City Schools: $280,000

A heavy-duty tow truck for busses: $100,000

Increased utility costs for HCC: $127,207.

It would fund county departmental requirements and capital of $748,693; a 2 percent employee competitive market adjustment of 2 percent and an employee pay for performance plan of 2 percent.

Going with this recommendation would reduce the county's fund balance to 17.5 percent.

The recommendation would leave $212,463 to use elsewhere.

The recommendation leaves outside funding requests short by $18,537, Brown said. There is a total of $231,000 in outside requests.

With the anticipated debt service for construction of a new Manning Elementary School upcoming in the next fiscal year, Commissioner Patrick Qualls suggested once the debt service is retired, the tax rate dies with it. “When it's gone, it's gone. We don't roll it into the general fund as a windfall,” he said.

The board, with Carolyn Johnson and Marcelle Smith absent, voted 4-0 to retire the tax rate for Manning Elementary and in a separate motion voted to retire the tax rate for the countys other debt service as it expires.

Discussion of the proposed budget recommendation dissolved into a debate on the possible freezing of an assistant county manager position.

Commissioner Rives Manning brought up the idea as a way of reclaiming the $18,537 needed to fund outside requests.

Commissioners debated going into closed session on the matter until County Attorney Glynn Rollins explained they could not go behind closed doors since they were only discussing freezing a position and not discussing a specific employee.

Brown was vehement his office could not afford to have a position cut. “I'm concerned about staffing I need in my office. I want to make sure my office is well staffed.”

Brown said over the past 10 years he has lost four positions.

With the departure of Assistant County Manager Erris Dunston, currently only Assistant County Manager Dia Denton remains.

Brown said Denton was called away Monday on an unexpected personal matter. “I need to have support in my office. It may look easy, but we spend time jumping through hoops.”

Brown said he has offered the board an opportunity to spend a day in his office to see “the challenges for us,” and the meetings his staff must go to. “I want you all to know I had the understanding I was going to have support.”

Bryant said Brown was doing a great job. “He has tremendous PR skills. The way the board is looking at things, we've got to make sure every decision is looked at critically.”

Manning said he appreciated the job the county manager is doing. “I suggested freezing the position. I didn't say do away with it. We're trying to see what we can do. It's crunch time. I feel like we all have to go in.”

Brown said freezing the position would equate to a 20 percent decrease in administrative staff. “No other department had to take that much of a cut. Is my department being a made a scapegoat to say we made cuts?”

Brown said he wanted the board to understand if such a decision is made there will have to be less meetings attended. “We don't go in at 8:30 and leave at 5.”

Manning spoke of a matter which could have carried the discussion into closed session. “ … You delegate some things to others and it still hasn't been solved. Once it was delegated (they) didn't do what they were supposed to do. Things got delayed.”

Bryant said it was a matter the board could take under advisement while Rollins said a personal conflict “is not a reason for cutting someone … It's not going to work.”