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BEDFORD -- Bedford County commissioners continued to iron out the details of the county's 2027 budget and met with the county's director of finance Wednesday to discuss wages and open positions.
Because the commissioners are still working on the budget, discussions and numbers relative to the meeting remain preliminary. The commissioners are expected to vote on a preliminary budget in the coming weeks and have set themselves a deadline by stating the preliminary budget will be on display for public inspection starting Nov. 20. It will be available for 20 days, and the commissioners will adopt the 2027 budget during their Dec. 15 meeting.
There was no discussion on an anticipated tax rate for next year.
During Wednesday's meeting, commissioners discussed salary raises for some county positions, including the vacant human resources director spot.
Director of Finance Melissa Millard proposed a safe number at a $60,000 salary.
That number is rock bottom, Commissioner Deb Baughman said, suggesting $70,000 instead.
Commissioner Mike Stiles agreed with Baughman, saying that he'd rather budget for a higher salary but know the county could spend less.
"I hate to put too much cushion in, because everything we cushion adds more to expenditures," Commissioner JR Winck said.
Bedford County is operating near its full capacity, Millard said, noting the county has just a small percentage of vacant positions.
"Last year we eliminated positions that haven't been used for many years; that brought our budget down," Stiles said. "Other counties are doing that this year, so we were just a year ahead."
Baughman said it's great to see their hard work pay off and benefit the next board of commissioners.
Poll worker compensation was also a topic at Wednesday's meeting, as Baughman said their rates are lower than average. It's been years since they've increased poll worker wages, she said, but she wasn't sure if they wanted to raise them for next year or for the 2028 election.
"If we don't do it this year, then I think going into 2028, that'll be a presidential election year and a changeover of elected officials," she said. "I do think that either this year or next year we need to raise them."
She said the commissioners need to continue the wage discussion at upcoming meetings.
Looking at preliminary numbers, Winck said they might not have to raise taxes in the 2027 budget. He said he'd rather keep poll worker wages where they are to avoid raising taxes.
When the Republican Committee was short on election workers, he said they went into the community and found volunteers to help.
"I think we need to keep that in mind, that part of civic duties is having an election, and people will step up and do that," he said.
Because Bedford County raised its taxes by 22% last year, Millard said the county is better off than its surrounding counties, some of which are struggling financially.
She said the county went into 2026 with a deficit, so the commissioners were playing catch-up with the tax increase. With this year's budget, however, she said they won't run into the same issues.
Last fall's state budget impasse negatively affected Bedford County's budget, Winck said, while Stiles said previous budgets managed by past commissioners didn't include tax increases, which in turn raised their deficit numbers.
The current board is the first to fund pensions fully in 20 years, Stiles pointed out.
"You guys have taken action to get to where you are right now," Millard said.
The commissioners will continue preliminary budget discussions before Nov. 20 while looking at actual numbers from the 2026 budget.
Mirror Staff Writer Colette Costlow is at 814-946-7414.