[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6538119,"mediaKeyId","3388710-e0de3175c723dddcb67b4333970efddf","parentId",3388710,"title","Votes at a glance: Columbus County schedules budget hearing, approves school parking funds, contracts and settlements","audioSeconds",1705,"startMs",2236000,"endMs",3941000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3388710-e0de3175c723dddcb67b4333970efddf&start=2236&end=3941","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3388710-e0de3175c723dddcb67b4333970efddf/thumbnail_2236000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6538119/Columbus-County/North-Carolina/Votes-at-a-glance-Columbus-County-schedules-budget-hearing-approves-school-parking-funds-contracts-and-settlements","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6538119-50aadda2c2f97f938eac509ed7811f65/orig.mp4?Expires=1770490973&Signature=MiGhmCm949Ka7ByYKlhl0ZLQR16BdfbO5tKZIEl~uZmGo~XpHFESAn9Bc2~5Q1nmaLavscELSu2jVG47G1M8l9MJ2bJSTyrWihf0PTDY~Xbs-gP0vVxI0zrBw4882b5ccOomI3vBLaVLhqedMoIgUqlONvFg58NcXIlFGkkhJiZe6MahxGpuAVaB6pZuwuLGQO6NbPL35RjTK72Yl~K1wSlxE7GlPU-b6I76SS0n2d9km~brTRI1G5cdvMyQPxcaHhl00crZERns-wI7ENoFtKYumsRX0H4NtiOffdelLK~ZYasVarH59zsGdcWS3D2Rufzy-VtubITP4WNpm-c3GQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Columbus County","date","2025-05-19T00:00:00Z","article","The Columbus County Board of Commissioners on May 19 accepted the proposed FY 2025–26 county budget for advertisement and set a public hearing for a date in June 2025, and approved a series of routine and substantive motions including school project funding, connectivity for the new 9-1-1 center, a PFAS settlement, and a software contract for Environmental Health.

The board voted to accept the FY 2025–26 proposed budget document and set a public hearing for June 2025 at 6:30 p.m. (the meeting record supplied “Monday, June 2025 at 06:30PM” but did not specify the calendar date). County Manager Eddie Madden presented the budget materials and confirmed the public hearing schedule.

Other items the board approved by voice vote or unanimous consent included:
- Use of North Carolina lottery funds and the associated budget amendment to pay for the McConaughey Middle School parking lot (Superintendent Adam Thompson requested the item).
- Authorization for the transportation director, Joyce Jacobs, to sign pre-application documents for an NCDOT grant (FY275311 grant referenced in the packet).
- Permission and a $1,000 special-appropriation budget amendment to allow the Denver City Chamber of Commerce to possess and display fireworks at South Columbus High School for an event; the director requested the permit and appropriation.
- Approval of the county’s required open noise settlement resolution and budget for FY 2025–26; staff said the detail is in the meeting packet and that expenditures are administered consistent with the attorney general’s requirements for handling settlement funds.
- Approval of a contract with MCNC for fiber connectivity to support VIPER radios and redundant Internet for the new 9-1-1 center; Interim Emergency Services Director Kaye Stevens said the connectivity will be paid with a 9-1-1 grant and a separate gift grant.
- Approval of the 3M PFAS settlement presented by County Attorney Amanda Prince.
- Approval of the first reading of a revised depreciation schedule (finance director Heather Woody said the change stems from auditor recommendations and extends useful lives for infrastructure assets in enterprise funds).
- Approval of an amended budget ordinance and fee schedule in advance of a software conversion for the collections/utility billing system (finance staff described a temporary shutdown of the old online bill-pay and a 2–4 week window before the new system’s online payments are expected to resume; convenience-fee rates were unified and reduced in the new schedule).
- Approval of various budget amendments and project ordinances (items 21 a–m, including increases to fines/forfeitures and ABC distributions, airport paving, veteran-services grant acceptance, and an environmental-health software contract to Tyler Technologies that staff said is grant-funded and time-sensitive).
- Approval of funding for detention-center meals and related budget amendment (Captain Robert Creech requested the item).
- Authorization for the sheriff’s office to cover conference-related expenses (annual sheriff’s conference travel authorization).
- Approval of the Columbus County Water and Sewer District resolution for the local water-supply plan during the combined district meeting.

Where the record shows a motion and second, the clerk recorded motions made by named commissioners and the board passed items by voice vote with the clerk’s “Aye” confirmation; specific roll-call tallies were not given in the minutes distributed at the meeting. For example: the motion to accept the proposed FY 2025–26 budget was moved by Commissioner Bullard and seconded by Commissioner Scott Floyd and passed on voice vote.

Next steps and public notices
Staff said the proposed budget and ordinance will be available for public review prior to the June hearing. Several contract approvals were marked as grant-funded and time-sensitive; staff told the board that some grant funds will be forfeited if the county does not spend them within the stated grant windows and urged prompt contract execution.

Items approved at the meeting did not include line-item roll-call tallies in the oral record; where a formal roll-call is required or recorded in future minutes, staff indicated they would provide the itemized vote.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Meeting 05-19-2025 (Part 3)","oneSentenceSummary","At its May 19 meeting the Columbus County Board of Commissioners accepted the FY 2025–26 proposed budget for advertisement and set a public hearing, approved use of lottery funds for a middle school parking lot, signed several contracts and budget amendments, and authorized a PFAS settlement and technology contracts.","taxTitle","Columbus County, North Carolina","taxId",58819,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6538123,"Columbus County soil and water office outlines Voluntary Agricultural District program; 49 farms enrolled",1628,877000,2505000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3388710-e0de3175c723dddcb67b4333970efddf&start=877&end=2505","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3388710-e0de3175c723dddcb67b4333970efddf/thumbnail_877000.jpg","/articles/6538123/Columbus-County/North-Carolina/Columbus-County-soil-and-water-office-outlines-Voluntary-Agricultural-District-program-49-farms-enrolled","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6538123-04830b50ac7054975ec94f6f1736c06c/orig.mp4?Expires=1770490973&Signature=Z6SQzksLGOW9K2J7iMIJZv8r8PZKD3oLShO81fMHHIdBZvD9Wy5rFlIE1-dWjGOYPqMmH6JiiWozAwJxU5uC1sDPn0yHTJ1qOsPQEbpajfgy2wwsnygxhYUhrN-E8-rvGyLZ6wXOjUdXOjHaADXllOuCg1q~WtzKmchOa4MwKAvUhKMemO9qJ6DYCDX2qOl4su9CPT-rE5i-~290wNDaw3uWM5-NRsA81YtzPKHxcTNrE6ZJT~ibR2yGbSwvGhDBdi~vDoIfHPgUpgbSCR998wN2W8fioPS9IpvxYEreWmCjwzXy2mKHKk-Sm0vojgeFyMHxKnveAKbAud6lgpzbIQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Morgan Hayes, director of the Columbus County Soil and Water Conservation District, laid out the county’s Voluntary Agricultural District (VAD) program at the Board of Commissioners meeting on May 19, describing eligibility rules, benefits for farmers and neighbors, and enrollment totals.

The VAD program, authorized by the North Carolina General Assembly, is intended to recognize and help preserve bona fide farms, reduce nuisance disputes and give landowners priority on certain state funding. “For a farm to qualify, it has to be considered a bona fide farm per the standard set up by GS 106-743 and GS 160D-903,” Hayes told the board, adding that farms must also be certified with the county’s NRCS for erosion-control practices when applicable and enter a 10-year conservation agreement.

Hayes said the conservation agreement filed for the VAD program is revocable during the 10-year term; she contrasted that with an “enhanced VAD” option under consideration, which would require a nonrevocable 10-year commitment unless the landowner later requests removal after the decade. “When you move into the enhanced version…that 10-year agreement is nonrevocable,” Hayes said.

Hayes provided enrollment and acreage details: 49 farms are currently filed at the register of deeds as VAD members; seven additional farms are approved by the county VAD board but not yet filed. She reported a total of 10,234.38 acres recorded in registered deeds for enrolled farms and roughly 823 acres pending filing. The county VAD board, Hayes said, is a seven-member panel appointed by the commissioners that meets quarterly to review applications.

Hayes described the program’s practical benefits. VAD members can post signs marking farm parcels and can be shown on an online map maintained with the county GIS office; the program’s map displays each enrolled parcel and a half-mile buffer zone around it to alert buyers and neighbors. Hayes: “If they’re buying land that’s adjacent…they can pull up that map and see that there’s a half-mile buffer zone around the farm.” She also said being in VAD can earn additional ranking points for state agricultural cost-share programs and farmland-preservation funding through the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and the Farmland Preservation Trust Fund.

Hayes reviewed eligibility acreage thresholds based on the bonafide-farm statute: 20 acres of forest, 10 acres of agricultural land or 5 acres of horticultural land (combinations of those categories can satisfy eligibility). She described other enrollment mechanics: a signed conservation agreement, a $26 filing fee to record required paperwork at the register of deeds, and the availability of membership signs (Hayes said single-sided signs are priced at $115 and double-sided at $155 under the current county schedule).

When commissioners asked about ownership changes, Hayes said new owners may reapply and the county will process a transfer; because VAD is voluntary the program office will remove a parcel if the new owner declines enrollment. Hayes noted the difference when a farm is placed into a perpetual conservation easement under the state farmland-preservation program, which carries different legal obligations and compensation based on appraisals.

Hayes said county staff have discussed an update to the county’s VAD ordinance to formally adopt the enhanced VAD option, and she identified technical support from the county GIS office for mapping and buffer displays. Edward Davis, listed as the region’s field representative with the North Carolina ADFP, attended and was available to answer questions on the farmland-preservation side.

The presentation concluded without a formal vote; Hayes said staff will continue to accept applications and bring any ordinance changes back to the board for consideration and adoption.

For more information, Hayes directed residents to the Soil and Water office and the county Soil and Water web page, which hosts the VAD map and application materials.","Columbus County Soil & Water presented the voluntary agricultural districts (VAD) program to commissioners, explaining eligibility, conservation agreements, benefits and enrollment numbers; staff described an enhanced VAD option with longer-term commitments and noted funding and mapping tools that support applicants.","actionData","errors"]

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Votes at a glance: Columbus County schedules budget hearing, approves school parking funds, contracts and settlements

Columbus County soil and water office outlines Voluntary Agricultural District program; 49 farms enrolled