Budget work belongs in public

Every year, local governments in Burke County go through a ritual that many residents never see, and few fully understand. That ritual is creating the budget for the next fiscal year.

Department heads submit wish lists. Finance officers crunch the numbers. Elected officials sit through workshops where they weigh immediate needs and long-term projects with decisions as diverse as whether to buy new equipment or approve employee pay raises.

Then they vote. And it’s done.

Morganton, Valdese, Drexel, and Rutherford College have all approved their FY26-27 budgets, which begin July 1. (Glen Alpine? See the story on the front page. Burke County? Its public hearing is scheduled for June 15.)

The trouble is, for many residents, the whole thing might as well happen behind a closed door.

North Carolina law sets out a clear process for how municipalities must adopt their annual budgets. Proposed budgets must be made available for public inspection. A public hearing must be held before adoption. The ordinance must be passed before the fiscal year begins on July 1.

These regulations are the floor of what’s required. We think Burke municipalities should do more than the bare minimum to encourage public participation and improve transparency.

Consider this: Several Burke towns now stream their regular board meetings online. They do so because they recognize that not everyone can get to town hall. Jobs, children’s extracurricular activities, a sick parent, or a car that doesn’t start keep people from attending. Streaming doesn’t replace showing up in person, but it helps keep residents informed.

So why don’t those same towns stream their budget workshops?

Morganton didn’t. Valdese didn’t. Drexel didn’t. Glen Alpine didn’t.

This isn’t a minor procedural point. Budget workshops are where the real work happens. If residents can watch an elected board debate a rezoning request or a street-paving schedule from their living rooms, they should also be able to watch those same officials discuss what they’ll pay in taxes next year and what services they’ll get in return.

Budget workshops are where board members ask hard questions, where department heads defend their numbers, and where the tradeoffs between what residents want and what the town can afford get worked out in real time. By the time a budget reaches a formal public hearing, many of the meaningful decisions are already made.

The argument that streaming is too burdensome holds no water when a municipality has already built the capacity to do it. The argument that the workshops are often held outside the usual boardroom to encourage dialogue among elected officials is also weak. Decisions shouldn’t be made based on what is best for officials; decisions should be based on what best serves the residents.

We’re not saying that town officials are acting improperly or trying to hide something. But to the outside observer, it can feel that way.

When residents see their regular board meetings broadcast and their budget workshops conducted off-screen, they notice. And some of them draw conclusions, conclusions that chip away at trust even when nothing improper is happening.

Valdese saw that happen in real time. After hearing considerable complaints, the town published its recording of the budget workshop on its YouTube channel about a month after it occurred.

The same public trust issue also happens at the public hearing itself.

State law requires a public hearing before a budget is adopted. It does not require a waiting period after the hearing closes. Technically, a board can hear the last public comment, close the hearing, and immediately vote to adopt the budget all in the same motion. That is legal. It is also corrosive.

A public hearing should be a genuine opportunity for residents to influence a decision before it’s final.

When residents take time to prepare comments, drive to a meeting, and raise concerns, only to then watch the board vote without discussion 30 seconds later, the message received is clear. Your input was noted and then set aside. The decision was already made. The compressed timetable makes it feel like a rubber-stamp maneuver: Thank you for your concern, but our minds were made up beforehand.

The ask is straightforward: Stream budget workshops if you already stream regular meetings. Post proposed budgets where residents can actually find them. Give residents clear advance notice of when budget discussions will take place. And when substantive concerns are raised at a public hearing, give board members time to consider them thoughtfully before the vote.

Local government works best when residents can see it working. Transparency doesn’t just protect the public. It protects elected officials, too. When people can see what factors went into a decision, they have a greater understanding, even if they don’t agree with the final verdict.

Burke County residents pay the taxes. They use the roads, drink the water, and call the police. They deserve to see how those decisions get made. The law sets a minimum. Public trust demands more.