By Richard Sullins | richard@rantnc.com

The Lee County Board of Commissioners approved a new budget Monday that avoids a tax increase, ending months of political tension and internal disagreement.

The $127.86 million budget for fiscal year 2026–27 passed 4-3 on a party line vote. Republican Chair Samantha Martin and commissioners Andre Knecht, Taylor Vorbeck, and Kirk Smith voted in favor. Democrats Robert Reives Sr., Cameron Sharpe, and Mark Lovick opposed it.

The vote capped a drama that began before Christmas, when County Manager Lisa Minter and her team began putting in the hard work that would ultimately result in the final budget proposal that commissioners saw first on May 18. Minter’s original proposal called for a five cent tax increase to close a nearly $9 million shortfall. With four commission seats on the ballot this November — and the remaining three coming up two years after that — several board members wanted to avoid a tax hike instead.

That urgency opened the door to a series of reductions that balanced the budget without raising taxes, while postponing any deeper structural reforms until next spring, when work begins on the FY 2027-28 plan.

What changed in the final budget

To avoid a tax hike, commissioners removed or reduced several major items from Minter’s May 18 proposal, including $1,023,388 from the capital reserve fund for building improvements, and $1 million that would have reduced long term debt from past bond funded construction projects.

Also removed was funding for a $2 million increase in the EMS contract with FirstHealth, effective July 1. Those dollars are to be covered by transfers from a different source of funding that will not be available after next year, leaving another hole that will have to be filled when next year’s budget cycle comes around.

Keeping the tax rate at 65 cents per $100 of valuation – instead of raising it to 70 – means the county will collect $5.1 million less in property tax revenue next year.

But the relief to taxpayers may be temporary.

Who gets what

With spending tightened across all departments, only three new positions made it into the final budget:

*Two deputies for the Lee County Sheriff’s Office — $367,557 for salaries, benefits, and equipment

*One Real Property Appraiser — $82,944 for salary, benefits, and equipment

To make the numbers work, Minter said the county will draw $2.5 million from its fund balance, a savings account built from unspent state dollars at the end of each fiscal year. This transfer is allowed under state rules but it reduces the cushion available for urgent needs or emergencies.

Calls for real reform

For decades, county budgets across North Carolina have followed a predictable cycle: staff drafts a plan, commissioners adjust it, talk of reform surfaces, and little changes. The county’s growing tax base – fueled by rising property values brought through rapid residential, commercial, and industrial development – has masked structural issues for years.

But the pressure is building. Revenue from new growth often lags months behind the arrival of new residents and businesses, and commissioners across the political spectrum say the current model is reaching its limits.

On Monday, Chair Samantha Martin proposed one concrete step: a performance audit of all county functions, the first in more than a decade. Lee County Schools District did a similar audit in 2023 that resulted in 97 operational recommendations.

“I would propose that we do a performance audit this coming year — that we re-evaluate how we go about delivering services,” Martin said. “We have a full fiscal year before we find ourselves in this position again.”

Whether the next board embraces that idea may determine whether Lee County finally confronts its long running budget challenges — or simply repeats this year’s scramble again next spring.