County Manager's Recommended FY2027 Budget Presentation

---

County Manager Shontell Robinson presented a $599 million budget to Forsyth County Commissioners on May 7 that maintains high-quality services, invests in education and ensures financial stability even as revenues decline.

The County’s revenues are not keeping pace with the steady demand for its services and the rising costs of maintaining current operations. Growth in the property tax base is constrained, while Sales tax revenues and State and federal funding have declined. Because of this, the proposed budget includes a modest tax rate increase.

The property tax rate in the recommended budget is 55.20 cents per $100 of property value, which is a 1.68 cent increase over the current fiscal year. For the average median home value in Forsyth County of $269,700, that would result in a $45.31 increase in annual property tax, which is the equivalent of $3.78 per month.

The budget grew by a modest 1.3 percent over the current fiscal year.

“The recommended budget maintains the essential services our residents rely on—without expanding programs—while addressing rising costs in a very challenging revenue environment.” said Robinson. “It reflects difficult but necessary recommendations that were made thoughtfully and in alignment with the Commissioners' priorities and our commitment to long-term financial stability."

Education remains the county’s top spending area with $191 million or 32 percent of the budget. Most of that goes to Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, which saw a 1 percent increase in funding using a funding formula that provides predictable and sustainable funding.

The recommended budget maintains services, but some department budgets received an increase in funding due to rising costs. The Sheriff’s Office received the largest increase, $5.2 million, primarily driven by personnel costs and higher detention center medical costs due to an increase in its average daily population. Public Safety, which includes the Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Services, continues to be the county’s second largest spending area with $116 million or 19 percent of the budget.

The budget recommends $1.3 million in strategic investments in critical areas, more than half of which are offset with revenues. This includes two new County Fire positions, a sheriff’s deputy for Clemmons, additional detention center funding due to its increased population along with printing hardware and software for Social Services.

The proposed budget does not appropriate fund balance to support recurring expenses for the second consecutive year. Fund balance represents the cumulative difference between revenues and expenditures and helps ensure sufficient cash flow for daily operations while providing a financial safeguard for unforeseen emergencies. It also plays a critical role in supporting the County’s AAA bond rating, which Forsyth County has proudly maintained for 30 years, allowing the County to borrow at the lowest possible interest rates—ultimately saving taxpayers money and reinforcing long-term financial stability.

To support the County’s ability to attract and retain top talent, the proposed budget continues to fund performance-based salary increases for employees. To help manage benefits costs, the County will offer two medical plans and two dental plans employees can choose from.

The recommended budget also transitions funding of the County fire system from 25 individual fire tax districts and fully funds the system through a single Countywide overlay district tax. The Countywide overlay rate is set at 9.51 cents and the individual fire tax district rates will be reduced to zero. This will be less than what residents in 10 out of the County’s 25 fire districts are currently paying in fire taxes and will cause modest increases in the others. The tax will support fire suppression and prevention operations. This change will help modernize the County’s fire system and address the long-standing funding inequalities in some rural fire departments.

The proposed budget also includes funding for Community Grants for 37 projects totaling $1.8 million in County funds for community organizations. Grants from other dedicated funding sources are also included: Opioid Settlement Funds, Behavioral Health Funds, Juvenile Crime Prevention Council (JCPC) Funds and Home and Community Care Block Grant (HCCBG) Funds.

The budget process will continue over the next several weeks as the Board of Commissioners deliberate upon and adopt a final FY27 budget. The following Commissioners meetings are scheduled:

• A Detailed Budget Review will start at 9 a.m. on May 14. This will include a presentation from Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools for their County budget request.
• A Public Hearing on the budget, where residents can give their comments, will be held at 6 p.m. on May 19 at the Government Center. Those wishing to give comments remotely should call 336-422-1200 at 5:45 p.m. on the day of the meeting. They will be placed on hold and recognized to speak in the order their calls were received.
• A Budget Workshop on May 21 starting at 9 a.m.
• If needed, a Budget Workshop will be held on May 28 starting at 9 a.m.
• Special Meeting to possibly adopt the budget on June 4 at 6 p.m.

Meetings will be held at the Forsyth County Government Center, 201 N. Chestnut St. They are televised live and live streamed on WSTV and are live streamed on the County Commissioners’ Meetings webpage along with the County’s Facebook and YouTube accounts. The proposed budget will be available for review in the County Commissioners’ Office at the Government Center, on the Budget Department webpage, and copies will also be distributed to County libraries.

If the budget isn’t adopted by the commissioners on June 4, the commissioners will consider it at a later meeting in June, but prior to June 30, as required by state statutes.