Could other revenue streams have funded the now-adopted New Hanover County budget?
New Hanover County commissioners adopted a budget last week that substantially increases their own salaries while raising taxes for many property owners. The Board of Commissioners adopted the budget on a 3-2 vote at their regular June 7 meeting. Both the increased pay for commissioners and the tax rate were sticking points for Vice Chair Deb Hays and Commissioner Rob Zapple, the two board members who voted against approval. Under the new adopted budget, the Chair Julia Olson-Boseman will receive a $39,780 annual salary while other commissioners will receive $31,824 a year. That's a jump of 50% in pay for the board chair and 73% for the commissioners. The chair currently makes $26,435 annually with commissioners making $18,356 per year. In addition to raising their own pay, the commissioners raised the tax rate above revenue neutral, which will mean higher taxes for most property owners in the county. Education: New Hanover to have best-paid teachers in the state, but even that may not be affordable  Commissioners voting against the budget approval say budget funding could be pulled from other revenue streams, such as the existing general fund or from money made in the sale of New Hanover Regional Medical Center to Novant Health. Those voting to approve the budget, and the pay raises it includes, argue the raises will make commissioner salaries comparable to what officials make in other large North Carolina cities and counties. Commissioner pay raise  Zapple said he voted against approving the budget, in part, because of the pay increases. "Nobody gets into this line of work  local government that is  for the pay," he said. "I'm in it for the public service, and it did not sit well with me to have a request for a pay increase for the commissioners at the same time we are asking for an increase in tax." Hays said she also didn't run for a position in local government for the pay. "It's not supposed to be a full-time job. It is very taxing, it does take quite a bit of time, but you balance that," she said. In New Hanover County, the annual per capita income between 2015 and 2019 was just over $34,000, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. But Chair Julia Olson-Boseman wrote in a statement to the StarNews that raising the pay for public officials could encourage a more broader group of people, including those who might not have the financial means, to run for office. "I hope this will encourage others in our community to run for office, knowing they will now be paid the countys minimum wage to do the important work of a public servant leader," she wrote. Olson-Boseman also stated the pay increase would put the commissioner salaries "on par with many counties our size, since the Commissioners had not received a pay increase like this in many years." The commissioners saw a pay increase of just under $1,000 in the current fiscal year. Their salaries remained the same from fiscal year 2017 through 2020. Members of the Wilmington City Council will also see a pay increase this year. Each member of the city council will see their salary increase 25% in this fiscal year under a budget that was unanimously approved on a second reading Tuesday. The mayor's salary in the next fiscal year will be $19,035. That's up from $15,228 in fiscal year 2021. Other council members will see their salaries increase from $11,592 to $14,490. Council members can expect to see their pay to keep rising in the future as part of an authorized pay increase. The three-year pay increase aims to "bring stipends up to the average benchmark cities in North Carolina," according to the recommended budget. Officials governing Charlotte - North Carolina's largest city - recently approved a budget that would boost their salaries with the mayor making $39,646 per year and council members making $32,638 annually. That's more than double what members of the Wilmington City Council make. Under another recently approved budget, members of the Mecklenburg County Commissioners will make $31,715 annually while the chairman is set to make $39,646. These figures are slightly lower than the salaries approved for the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners. In Buncombe County, which includes Asheville and an area with similar population numbers to Wilmington, the chairman of the Board of Commissioners makes $37,650 while individual commissioners make $28,916  both are lower than the proposed pay for New Hanover commissioners. Next door in Brunswick County, the chair of the Board of Commissioners currently receives a salary of more than $30,600 each year, while commissioners receive approximately $24,730 per year. The county's recommended budget would raise these salaries roughly $1,000 over the next fiscal year. In Pender County, the chair of the county's board of commissioners makes $16,537 annually while other commissioners make $13,193 per year. Hospital sale, other revenue streams  The adopted budget also raises the tax rate above revenue neutral, which will mean higher taxes for most property owners in the county. Residents who attended a public hearing on the budget last week questioned why funding for the budget couldn't be taken from the county's other revenue streams like the recent sale of New Hanover Regional Medical Center to Novant Health for $1.5 billion. Both Zapple and Hays said they believe the county budget could be adjusted so the "burden" wasn't put directly on the taxpayers. At the June 7 meeting, Hays suggested delaying adoption of the budget in order to explore some of the other county's other revenues. Funding for the budget could be taken from the county's existing general fund, debt service adjustments, or the county could tap into its $300 million revenue stabilization fund, which was funded from the sale of the hospital, Zapple said. No money from the sale of the hospital is currently being used to fund the adopted budget, according to Jessica Loeper, New Hanover County's Chief Communication Officer. Most of the proceeds from the hospital sale went into the New Hanover Community Endowment, which was established as a nonprofit. The remaining money went into the revenue stabilization fund and Mental and Behavioral Health Fund, according to Loeper. "The money from the sale was never intended to offset the general fund and operations of the county," Loeper wrote in an email to the StarNews. If money from the revenue stabilization fund were used to fund the budget, it would have to be used over the next four years - before the next valuation - and would require approval from four of the five members of the Board of Commissioners. Reporter Emma Dill can be reached at 910-343-2096 or edill@gannett.com.