Not everyone in Guilford County government is going along to get along with Chairman of The Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston and his merry band of big spenders. There are still two Republicans on the board and, when the seven Democratic commissioners voted on the 2025-2026 fiscal budget, the two explained in detail why they were worried about it and why they couldn’t support it.
On Thursday night, June 19, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners voted 7-2 to adopt the county’s new budget – a giant spending plan that will be in effect from July 1 to June 30 of next year. But while the board’s seven Democrats gave the budget their enthusiastic support, the two Republicans – Commissioners Alan Perdue and Pat Tillman – voted no, citing long-term fiscal concerns and what they see as missed opportunities to right-size Guilford County government.
Under Democratic rule in recent years, the board has spent the county’s savings account down to dangerous levels, taken over $3 billion in debt, given out hefty raises to all county employees, vastly expanded some departments, and, the last time the county needed to buy a fleet of cars, they had to do so on credit.
The truth is that, things are getting so tight when it comes to the county’s money, even some Democratic commissioners in recent months have expressed concerns as to how certain wants would be paid for.
At the June 19 meeting, Commissioner Perdue praised the board’s process and hard work, but said he simply could not support the final product.
“My vote tonight reflects my responsibility to advocate for fiscal discipline and protection of our taxpayers – not just this year, but next year and beyond,” Perdue said. “We’re facing property revaluation next year, and without tightening our belts now, we may be setting ourselves up for a significant tax increase going forward on families and property owners.”
After the revaluation goes into effect next year, the average home property value is expected to be 50 percent higher than it currently is assessed – and the current plan of the Democrats seems to be to leave the tax rate where it is after that revaluation and rake in an astronomical amount of new taxpayer money with the 2026 and after tax bills.
Perdue said Guilford County government is growing too fast in areas that don’t directly serve citizens.
“We remain top-heavy in several key administrative areas,” Perdue, the former longtime Emergency Services director, said. “And we’re growing faster in those areas than the need being served.”
While he acknowledged that the budget included “some really good things” – like more money for school maintenance, school safety, public safety, mental health services, and the Family Justice Center – Perdue said the overall budget missed the mark when it comes to sustainability and discipline.
“Our citizens expect us to manage the county’s checkbook much like they manage their own household budgets – by planning ahead, cutting excess and saving where possible,” he said. “Before we take more from taxpayers, I think it’s important that we show we’ve tightened our belt to reduce waste and prioritize wisely.”
Commissioner Pat Tillman, who also voted no, echoed many of the same concerns that Perdue had and Tillman also praised county staff for their long hours and hard work on the budget.
However, Tillman then said that, over his three-plus years on the board, he’s seen a troubling trend: a growing county government that shows no sign of slowing down.
“There are so many positives in it,” he said of the budget on the table. “But there are also ways I believe we could reduce the size and the scope of government. As I’ve been on the board three-plus years, I don’t think we’ve done that.”
Tillman said he worries about where the money is coming from – specifically, the county’s use of recurring funds and reliance on the general fund, which is essentially the county’s savings account.
It’s a basic rule of good governance not to use one-time funds for recurring costs. But the current board has done so year after year, which is why the savings account has for the first time at least in this century fallen below the 8 percent of the budget mark that state oversight officials consider the bare minimum reserve any local government should have on hand.
Tillman said the commissioners are “taking from pots of money” that aren’t going to be recurring and spending that money on programs and initiatives “that aren’t going to go away.”
“And I do believe that we need to further lessen our dependence on our general fund,” he added.
Tillman, who said he votes based on “my conscience, my constituents, and the community that I serve,” added that voting no wasn’t a decision he made lightly.
“I do appreciate all the work,” he said, “and respectfully, as Quakers say, I stand aside on this vote.”
Stuff from the government is free. Freedom is free. What a great world.
Not free, just other peoples’ money…
Please get rid of these dems and bring in common sense!!!!
TAXPAYER ABUSE.
Guilford county is going to get to the point it can no longer afford to be liberal.
They supported the last two budgets and with the recent job news the spending needs will not be slowing down. The headline should read: Two Republican Commissioners are Very Concerned about Getting Primaried.
Amen
Bingo!
So? They have two votes, cope!
Keep crowing City but remember he who crows last crows the loudest There’s a big black train coming down the tracks and it’s heading straight for skip and his band of liberal democrats. KARMA is a bitch but it’s on the way
Some people expect the government to pay for everything. Changes need to be made in GUILFORD COUNTY.
County governments here and elsewhere are falling short after swimming in the massive dollars from Covid handouts and the opioid settlements.
They seem to be incapable of getting back to everyday resources ($) vs. real needs. Kids can’t have all the neat stuff in the toy store.
A wise county manager should be directing every department head to cut at least 10%.
This committee must be getting kick-back money because no normal person wants to pay high taxes.
Valid concerns but an incomplete picture. Readers deserve better.
This article raises valid concerns, but it gives a free pass to the Republican commissioners and leaves out key facts that readers need to understand the full picture.
Yes, the fund balance has dropped below 8%, and yes, the county has over $3 billion in debt—but that debt comes largely from voter-approved school bonds, and much of the fund balance being spent is deliberately earmarked to cover future debt payments. The board may be trying to avoid even larger tax hikes later by funding those costs gradually now. That’s not “reckless”—it’s a trade-off. Yost doesn’t mention it.
Also ignored: Guilford’s staff-to-resident ratio is among the lowest in NC, and many of the new hires are frontline roles like social workers, tax appraisers, and public safety staff—not bureaucratic bloat. So where exactly is the “top-heavy” problem Perdue mentions? No follow-up from the reporter.
Yost also fails to ask the most obvious questions:
– If not this budget, what’s the alternative?
– What departments or services would Perdue or Tillman cut?
– Do they support lowering the tax rate after revaluation—and if so, how would they fund $3B in bond obligations?
– Would they freeze teacher pay or cancel mental health initiatives to rebuild reserves?
Taxpayers should absolutely care about long-term fiscal health—but they also deserve journalism that explains why spending is up: not just raises and new programs, but planning for looming debt service on schools voters demanded.
Instead of exploring these trade-offs, this article offers partisan worry without balance, and no pressure on the critics to say what they’d actually do instead. That’s not fiscal watchdogging—it’s just finger-pointing with a byline.
Again, this would be a 10,000 word article and also I give the Dems side in other articles all the time. I have covered the county for 25 years and have never seen spending anywhere like this. The Republican board kept the county running fine for eight years, lowered the tax rate during that time and when the revaluation values came in they lowered the rate then too to keep the county revenue neutral. The current batch of commissioners are all very nice but they approve just about everything that is put before them. Scott Yost.
The typical MAGA double standard response to everything. They only have fiscal concerns when Democrats are in power MAGA Motto: We Lie And Deny.
In a Rhino Times article a few years ago it was pointed out that Guilord County has increased spending by over $400 million dollars once the dems took control of the Board. That does NOT INCLUDE the $100+ Million Guilford received from Covid money. After the last reassessment I told ole skippy during a public comments period that Guilford County had the highest percentage tax increase in the US. ole Skippy corrected me saying Guilford had the 2nd highest in the entire US. I guess ole skippy took that as a challenge because the democrat controlled county board is trying again for a sales tax increase even though taxpayers have already rejected this effort 5 or 6 times. It seems ole skippy and his democrat tax and spend cronies on the board just can’t seem to understand NO MEANS NO. It is well past time for EVERY TAXPAYER AND VOTER in Guilford County to throw out every democrat on the County Board and VOTE FOR EVERY REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE THAT RUNS FOR ANY OFFICE.
Remember the $1.7 BILLION dollar school bond theft? You know where the democrat controlled board colluded with the democrat controlled school board to trick voters to approve the bonds. Ole skippy and the democrat controlled board FAILED TO TELL VOTERS THE TRUE COST WOULD BE OVER $3 BILLION after taxpayers pay over $1.3 BILLION in interest. Republican Alan Branson, former Guilford County Board member and now a NC Representative, spent his own money fighting to overturn this ‘fixed’ vote. But a democrat NC judge said that what the democrat controlled county and democrat controlled school boards did was illegal, since they tricked 60% of voters to approve the bond…it was okay with him. Bonds must be spent within 10 years of their passage and must be repaid within 20 years after the money is spent. So-o-o, when a baby is born today, they will be 30 years old with a family of their own and will STILL BE PAYING FOR THE ILLEGAL TAX BILL THEIR PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS APPROVED. NOT EXACTLY THE KIND OF GENERATIONAL WEALTH TRANSFER PARENTS WANT TO GIVE THEIR KIDS AND GRANDKIDS.
WAKE UP GUILFORD! If you vote for ANY dem for ANY office, this is what you will get. VOTE FOR EVERY REPUBLICAN FOR EVERY OFFICE. They are may not be right on every issue, but they sure as h**l will not spend you and your family into the poor house.