No tax increase for Pender County

Pender County is not raising taxes this time around eigther.

Their new budget puts a big emphasis on education.

The 2008-2009 budget includes a 12 percent funding increase for schools — designating 12 million dollars for school operating expenses.

Not included in that budget is the addition of school resource officers in all of the county middle schools.

Funding to pay the added SRO’s goes through the sheriff’s department.

A few other items of interest within the Pender County budget:

• $100,000 dollars to help fund a surf city branch of Cape Fear Community College.
• $60,000 dollars to help run the Topsail Humane Society’s animal shelter.
• $961,000 dollars to hire 12 new county employees, including a deputy fire marshal and a tax clerk.