Rose Dairy Farm's 308 acres given to county

Proposed county and town budgets unveiled:
Property-tax rates of 52¢ and 45¢ are unchanged

County Manager Rick Hester presented his proposal to the County Commissioners Monday evening. He recommends maintaining the county's current tax rate at 52 cents per $100 valuation of real estate.

The next step toward final approval is a public hearing on the spending plan during the county board's 10 a.m. meeting on Monday, June 1. Adoption of the 2026-27 budget is anticipated during the commissioners' meeting at 6 p.m. June 15.

Smithfield's Interim Town Manager Kim Pickett presented her proposed budget to the Town Council Tuesday evening following a budget session Monday that appeared to produce a consensus to leave the town's property-tax rate at 45 cents per $100 valuation of real estate.

Town Councilor Travis Scott had suggested during a session last week that the rate be cut to 40 cents, but backed away from that stand Monday after an assessment of its impact. Ms. Pickett had prepared a revised budget proposal prior to Monday's meeting based on the 40-cent rate but said that would require "a dramatic cut" in capital projects and other spending needs.

A public hearing on the proposed town budget will be conducted during the council's next regularly scheduled meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 2 at Town Hall. The budget must be adopted by July 1, the start of fiscal 2026-27.

KEY POINTS IN MR. HESTER'S PROPOSED COUNTY BUDGET:

• $113 million for operating Johnston County Public Schools. Johnston's Board of Education has requested $116.3 million – up from the current year's $110 million. The school board also wants $5,478,000 for capital needs other than construction; Mr. Hester is recommending $3.5 million.

• A "pause" on requests for 28 new positions in several county departments including Emergency Services, 911 Communications, and the Sheriff's Office. Four new positions are included in Public Utilities "since that department gets its funding from water and sewer customers, not taxpayers," Mr. Hester noted.

• No change in the countywide fire-tax rate of 11.5 cents per $100 of real-estate valuation in all unincorporated areas of Johnston.

• Increases in the county's retail and wholesale water and sewer rates to be finalized in upcoming budget sessions. (Wholesale sewer rates affect the Town of Smithfield.)

• An increase in the county's landfill tipping fee from $48 to $50 per ton while keeping garbage and trash "convenience sites" free of charge for all residents.

• Pay raises for county employees to be determined "in the coming weeks" based on a pay study to determine where raises are needed "to remain competitive in the marketplace," Mr. Hester noted.

• $8.7 million from General Fund reserves to balance the budget, "but it's possible we won't need that money," Mr. Hester noted. "Historically, the county has annual savings from operations (job vacancies as an example of savings) which might allow us to keep most or all of that $8.7 million in reserves."

KEY POINTS IN MS. PICKETT'S PROPOSED TOWN BUDGET:

• No immediate increase in electric rates charged customers of the town's system despite a 4.5% increase in what ElectriCities charges the town for delivered power. That may be passed on to customers after the start of the new fiscal year, depending on results of a rate study that's nearing completion. (West Smithfield residential customers of Duke Energy are facing a proposed rate increase of 13.5% in January and another 4.5% a year later.)

• No immediate increases in the town's retail water and sewer rates, although an increase in wholesale sewer rates expected from the county in September may prompt the town to raise its rates.

• No increase in sanitation charges for garbage and trash pickup even though the county is raising its landfill disposal fee.

• Merit pay increases up to 2% for all full-time employees in mid-year.

• Travel & training allowances of 3,000 for each Town Council member.

• Payroll & Accounts Payable automation in all departments.

• Two new patrol vehicles and various safety devices for the Police Department.

• Restructuring of Fire Department personnel with three battalion chiefs added.

• One new facility-maintenance employee for Parks & Recreation.

• Continuation of the extra 16-cent property-tax levy in Downtown service district. 

• $500,000 from General Fund reserves added to an anticipated state Powell Bill allocation of $440,00 to continue stepped-up resurfacing of streets.

• $14,653 for the Tobs baseball stadium project – "just enough to get us through the first fiscal year of operation," with the stadium's completion scheduled next May.

VIEW DETAILS of Smithfield's proposed budget on the town's website>
 

Town's audit puts Fund Balance above $20 million

Independent auditor Alan Thompson presented to the Smithfield Town Council Tuesday evening yet another positive report on the town's finances. "Fiscally the town is in really good shape," he said, summarizing results of his firm's annual audit for the 2024-25 fiscal year that ended last June 30.

The town finished the year with an unrestricted General Fund surplus of $20,108,346 – a gain of almost $2.5 million over the previous year's balance.

Adding up fund balances for the taxpayer-supported General Fund and its Electric and Water & Sewer "enterprise" funds, the town's reserves totaled $89.5 million as of last June 30, Mr. Thompson noted.

READ the auditor's summary of his annual review of the town's finances>

Buffalo Road industrial rezoning request denied

Following a public hearing, the council voted 5-1 to deny a request for Light Industrial zoning on 50.8 acres at 2614 Buffalo Road. The land is now zoned R-20A (Residential-Agricultural). The folks out there urged the council to keep it that way.

Councilor Sloan Stevens cast the only dissenting vote after expressing a desire for conditional zoning with specific plans for the site rather than industrial zoning that would permit a number of uses that might not be welcomed by nearby residents.

Realtor Perry Harris said he has clients looking for industrial sites in the area not far from US 70 and the Selma Oil Terminal, but added that his preference for the Buffalo Road site would be a shopping center serving the area's recent residential growth.

Tattoo studio permitted on North Seventh Street

Without dissent, the council approved a special-use permit for the opening of Cloak & Dagger Tattoo Studio in part of a former auto-repair garage at 103 North Seventh Street. The vacant structure is being redeveloped as part of a larger commercial project to replace the former Little's Pontiac dealership.

Kelly Griffin of Grace Homemade International, the project's developer, asked for permission to provide a temporary gravel parking lot for the tattoo business until the adjacent new building is constructed. She requested a 36-month permit for that but Mayor Andy Moore insisted it be reduced it to 24 months. The council agreed, and added a further restriction at the mayor's request to prohibit flashing lights on the front of the business, which will be operated by Drew and Mandy Lockamy.

Stephanie Avery pointed out during the hearing that the tattoo studio would be located next door to a church and a child-care center, but Ms. Griffin said she had told church leaders about the plan and "they're all for this project."

Pond at college to get automated release device

The council approved acceptance of a $783,351 grant from the state's Land and Water Fund to pay the lion's share of a "retrofit project" to control drainage releases from the town's large holding pond beside College Road next to Eva Ennis Park.

The project includes "installation of a riser control structure with continued monitoring" that would automatically release water from the pond in advance of heavy rainstorms. The pond slows runoff from a large area west of I-95 that includes the Johnston Community College campus and the Pine Acres subdivision.

The pond's release control is part of a larger project to lessen storm-water volumes flowing into Spring Branch through the heart of town.

The council was told the town will have to contribute $135,000 in matching funds to help meet the project's estimated budget of $938,352. When the work will begin has yet to be determined. The state's grant requires completion within three years.

Vacant DAV hut to be burned by Fire Department

The council gave the Smithfield Fire Department permission to remove the wood-framed house from its location beside Buffalo Road at Community Park with a "controlled burn" for firefighter training. The hut was recently vacated by the Disabled American Veterans chapter when the site was under consideration for the Tobs baseball stadium which won't be built there after all.
 

FOUR SSS SENIORS GET TEACHING SCHOLARSHIPS

They're getting $30,000 apiece to attend college and return to Johnston County as teachers under the JOCO TEACH program. Pictured are recipients Brianna Huff, Olivia Dillon, Lola Hansley, and Ariana Resauls alongside several school officials at Monday's presentation. Olivia will attend Meredith College to study High School English Education; Lola will attend UNC Wilmington to major in Middle Grades Education; Brianna will attend UNC-W to study Elementary Education; Ariana will attend UNC Charlotte to major in Elementary Education. (JCPS photo)
 

Johnston Community College's spring commencement

Altogether, 335 graduates "crossed the stage" during this week's commencement ceremony. More than 850 credentials were awarded for the spring semester, including 520 degrees, 285 certificates, and 62 diplomas. (JCC photo)
 

UNC Health Johnston has received the 2026 Outstanding Patient Experience Award plus several five-star specialty-care ratings from Healthgrades, a website that consumers often use to find a doctor or hospital.

The award puts UNC Health Johnston in the top 15% of hospitals nationwide for patient experience. The five-star ratings from Healthgrades are based on exceptional performance in key service areas of carotid surgery and treatment of stroke, pancreatitis, and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).

UNC Health operates an expansion of former Johnston Memorial Hospital, which opened in 1951, and a second hospital at Clayton, opened in 2009.

For its latest analysis, Healthgrades evaluated Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems patient-survey data from nearly 4,000 hospitals across 10 patient-experience measures including staff communication, medication explanations, and cleanliness. The analysis covered the years 2022 through 2024 and represented three-year estimates for Medicare patients only.
 

 WHAT'S COMING UP 

Memorial Day observance: 11 a.m. Monday at Courthouse
The Johnston County Veterans Council will host the annual Memorial Day ceremony in the Old Superior Courtroom of the Johnston County Courthouse at 11 a.m. Monday. Speakers scheduled: Lalonzo Chambers, Marine Corps League Carry On Detachment 1236; Reggie Parker, American Legion Post 346, Four Oaks; Mike Arrington, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5955, Selma; and Tom Holcomb, American Legion Post 405, Pine Level. Sherrill G. Stevens, a U.S. Army veteran of World War II, will give the invocation. County Commissioner Ted Godwin, a U.S. Army veteran, will give the welcome. The observance will end with a wreath-laying ceremony, a firing party by the American Legion Post 346 Honor Guard, and the playing of Taps. The observance will be live-streamed>

Smithfield-Selma High's graduation: 9 a.m. next Thursday
With Johnston County Public Schools on a modified calendar that started the second semester in early January, SSS will hold its spring commencement exercises at 9 a.m. next Thursday (May 28) at Charles Tucker Stadium.

TOWN HALL CLOSED FROM 11:30 TILL 2:30 FRIDAY
for an employee appreciation event. During this time, customers may use the two drop boxes outside Town Hall for bill payments or pay via our online portal:
https://www.municipalonlinepayments.com/smithfieldnc

TOURS OF HISTORIC SITES CONTINUE THIS SATURDAY

A busload of history-minded folks took the first of three guided tours hosted by the Johnston County Heritage Center last Saturday, including this stop at the antebellum Atkinson-Smith House off Brogden Road in Boon Hill Township. A second tour is scheduled for this Saturday of historic African-American sites. The third tour on Saturday, May 30 will visit several old churches with distinctive architectures. For more information and to purchase tickets for upcoming tours, visit the County of Johnston's website celebrating America's 250th anniversary>

America250Fair to host art & photography competition

Johnston County’s America250 Fair at Johnston Community College on June 27 will feature a juried exhibition of paintings and photography. This joint project of the Johnston County Arts Council and the Johnston County Committee for America250NC is sponsored by a grant from Grifols.

The show’s theme is “Everyday Life in Johnston County, Past and Present.” Artists and photographers are encouraged to capture scenes of everyday life either on canvas or through photography (conventional or digital). Paintings may include oils, acrylics, watercolors, colored pencils, pastels, pencil, charcoal, or pen-and-ink. Each artist will provide no more than two framed works displayed on easels.  

The deadline for submitting an entry form is June 15. Artwork is to be delivered Thursday, June 25, between 1:00 and 3:00 pm at the Great Hall of Paul A. Johnston Auditorium, Tart Building, Johnston Community College. The exhibition will remain open through the final presentation of the musical 1776 on Sunday, June 28.

In order to be eligible for competition in this show, original artwork must not have been previously awarded a prize. Artists must be 18 years of age or older.
Winners in each of the two categories will receive cash prizes of $200, $100, and $50, with $300 given for “Best in Show.”

Entry form, prospectus, and additional information may be obtained online at
https://www.johnstonnc.gov/america250 or by visiting the Johnston County Museum at 329 E. Market Street, Smithfield. Entry forms should be submitted via
e-mail to the Johnston County Arts Council at info@jcartscouncil.org.
 

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 A WORD (OR TWO) FROM THE EDITOR 

A better way to provide some property-tax relief

The N.C. General Assembly, responding to taxpayers' complaints about rising property-tax bills in the wake of real-estate revaluations like we experienced last year in Johnston County, has put a proposed constitutional amendment on November's ballot that would authorize the Legislature to cap future increases in property-tax rates set by North Carolina's local governments.

Speaking about the coming year's county budget this week, County Commissioner Bill Stovall addressed one of the roots of higher property-tax bills in response to County Manager Rick Hester's proposal to "pause" employment of 28 needed positions to keep Johnston's tax rate unchanged for another year.

"Since I've been on this board two years now we have seen an increase in the number of state obligations the state did not fund," Mr. Stovall noted. "We stepped in because we didn't want to see services to our citizens compromised."

He went on to point out that such shortfalls affect Johnston County Public Schools as well as the County of Johnston. One big example of that is the state's cap on serving "exceptional children" in public schools. The county has put up millions of dollars in recent years to make sure all of our qualified children are being served.

County Commissioner Butch Lawter said at the end of Monday's discussion that he recently heard an official from one of the state's larger counties estimate that his local board could cut its property-tax rate by 19 cents if the state were meeting its statutory obligations to serve its citizens.

Meanwhile, our legislators are doing whatever they can these days to cut state taxes as they shift more burdens to local governments and their taxpayers.
 

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