Union County manager unveils $664 million FY2027 recommendation, sets aside teacher supplements and SRO funding

County Manager Brian Matthews presented the manager's recommended fiscal year 2027 budget to the Union County Board of Commissioners on June 1, proposing a $664 million total budget across all funds and roughly $470 million for the general fund. He said the recommendation includes no change to the county's bifurcated tax-rate presentation and emphasized the document is informational tonight, not an adoption vote.

Matthews said property taxes remain the primary revenue source and estimated each penny of the tax rate generates about $6.5 million. The manager emphasized a bifurcated format in the budget document that separates general-government and education rates to increase transparency about how money is used for schools, the county, and enterprise functions such as water and sewer.

On education, Matthews said Union County Public Schools requested approximately $174 million but that state statute requires an estimated statutory increase of about $5.6 million above last year. The manager recommended meeting the statutory obligation and also setting aside a contingency of roughly $3.8 million for teacher and teacher-assistant supplements, contingent on a working agreement with UCPS that clarifies distribution and timing. Matthews said the county would recommend using a portion of the education tax dollars to cover some School Resource Officer (SRO) costs (about $2.77 million) while approximately $8 million of SRO- and school-related costs would continue to be supported from the general fund.

Matthews outlined other spending priorities: adding several positions (roughly seven general-fund FTEs and additional grant- or fee-funded positions), converting some sheriff cadet slots to detention officers, creating an additional sheriff IT position, enhancing EMS staffing with a roughly $800,000 staffing expansion and $2.7 million in capital/vehicle replacements, and continuing multi-year water and sewer capital projects funded by the enterprise with a proposed 7.25% water and 6% sewer rate increase (the third year of a previously approved three-year plan).

On water and sewer, Matthews described a multi-year capital plan projected near $700 million over several years and a current enterprise one-year proposal near $100 million for operations and capital. He said an updated master plan and consultant work should be completed in less than two years to guide future rate modeling.

Matthews also highlighted economic development investments (land acquisition and incentive grants totaling roughly $2.76 million) and recognized the budget team's GFOA award for best-practice budget presentation.

The manager said the board will hold a joint meeting with the Board of Education on Wednesday to negotiate details of the proposed teacher/TA contingency and that the budget, if adopted, would take effect July 1. The public hearing on the budget closed after no additional speakers signed up. Matthews repeatedly framed the $3.8 million teacher/TA contingency as conditional on an agreement with UCPS and said the board could withhold the funds if the school board declined the terms.

What happens next: the board will consider any changes before a scheduled adoption (anticipated June 16), and staff will provide additional detail to commissioners as requested.