GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — Guilford County has passed its $840 million budget for 2024.
About one-third of that goes to the Guilford County Schools but the rest is funds for other services in the county.
There will be no tax increase for the majority of Guilford County residents, the only exception is Colfax Fire Service District, people there, will pay a 1.69 cent increase in property taxes.
One focus of this budget is looking at salaries for staff and filling the new positions that were added. “I think it speaks to our values, what’s in your budget is what you say you value,” said Pat Tillman, who represents District 3 on the county commission board.
Guilford County is spending $12.2 million for staff recruitment and retention through the county’s competitive pay plan and bringing back pay increases based on performance. “I think they we accomplished a tremendous amount with very limited resources and I think we have a lot to be proud of what we are delivering to the resident of Guilford county,” said Mary Beth Murphy, who represents District 4 on the county commission board.
59 new positions will be added to the Department of Health and Human Services to prepare for Medicaid expansion. The county estimates with the change, around 200,000 residents will qualify and they need more staff to keep up.
The budget includes nearly $1 million to add four social workers for a new adult welfare community team and up to seven social workers for a new specialized child and family support and early intervention team.
The county is allocating $3.5 million for mental health, behavioral health and medical services for people at the Greensboro and High Point detention centers and the juvenile detention center in Greensboro. “A lot of the things in here really helps us address some of those gaps in community services and those needs that the pandemic very clearly showed existed in our community,” said Michael Halford, the Guilford County Manager.
The budget also adds ten school nurses, five tax appraisers and one new emergency services mechanic. In total, the county is adding close to 80 positions. But they are eliminating 58 other jobs because funding sources are no longer available. This budget with all those changes goes into effect on July 1.
