Tornado costs could shift county budget

April 26--GUILFORD COUNTY -- The tornado that cut a path of destruction through eastern Greensboro and parts of the county earlier this month may compel a new approach for Guilford County commissioners crafting their upcoming budget.

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners held its initial work session Wednesday for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Recovery from the tornado that killed one motorist and damaged more than 1,000 buildings could shift spending for the 2018-19 fiscal year.

"A lot of gears are turning as to what we will do," said board Chairman Alan Branson, a Republican commissioner from Julian in the eastern part of the county.

The fallout from the tornado on April 15 included extensive damage to three Guilford County public schools that are closed for the remainder of this academic year. The damaged buildings are Hampton, Peeler and Erwin elementary schools.

Prior to the start of the work session, Branson told The High Point Enterprise that the recovery for the school system will play a key role in the fiscal impact of the tornado on the upcoming county budget.

How much insurance payments cover rebuilding expenses will affect how much money in the upcoming county budget will have to go toward the tornado recovery, Branson said.

A fiscal wild card in the equation focuses on whether the county can salvage and repair any of the three schools that were damaged, or will all or some of the buildings have to be torn down and rebuilt from the ground up, Branson said.

"It will be a key ingredient in the budget process," he told The Enterprise.

Another unknown is how much relief money the county and school system would receive from the state of North Carolina and the federal government. During a visit last week to neighborhoods in eastern Greensboro hit by the tornado, Vice President Mike Pence pledged federal help with the recovery.

Gov. Roy Cooper also promised his support when he visited the week after the tornado touched down in the city and county.

The board will deliberate over the budget into June, when it traditionally holds a hearing for public input. The board usually passes the budget at its second scheduled meeting in June

One good harbinger for the county is that its current fiscal position appears solid.

County Budget Director Mike Halford told the commissioners that the county is spending less than projected through this month for the current fiscal year.

The county has spent $660 million through April. When the current budget was enacted this past summer, county officials projected spending $673 million through this point, Halford said.

"We are $13 million under budget on the expense side," Halford said.

Early projections on revenue streams for the upcoming fiscal year are encouraging, Halford told the commissioners.

For example, property and sales tax revenues for the next fiscal year are projected to reach $463.8 million by April 2019, ahead of the $458.1 million through this month for the current fiscal year.

pjohnson@hpenews.com -- 336-888-3528 -- @HPEPaul

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