NC GAZETTE / WBRT RADIO
STAFF REPORT
Wedneday, Jan. 7, 2026 – Sparks flew during Tuesday’s Nelson Fiscal Court meeting when the court prepared to approve the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office 2026 budget.
Unlike most local governments, the sheriff’s office operates on a calendar year basis, i.e, January to December. Local governments like Nelson Fiscal Court operate on a year that runs July 1st and runs through the following June 30th.
Nelson County Sheriff Ramon Pineiroa was vocal but respectful in his objections to the court’s presentation of a sheriff’s office budget prepared without his direct input.
According to Pineiroa, the county’s sheriff’s office budget — created by County Treasurer Rhonda Fenwick and Judge-Executive Tim Hutchons — failed to include a number of line item expenses that the sheriff had on his version of the budget.
Pineiroa said as sheriff that he is more aware of the office expenses than the county treasurer and county judge. He noted that as the elected official, its his responsiblity to have a budget that can pass a year-end audit without major faults.
He told the magistrates that his office has a record of prompt payment on all invoices, and said he didn’t want delays to affect his relationship with vendors.
He noted that he had no issue with the fee-pooling arrangement. His major concern was the court being ready to approve a sheriff’s office budget that failed to represent estimates for the actual expenses the office is expected to incur this calendar year.
Pineiroa also was unhappy that the county’s sheriff’s office budget appeared to make all of the sheriff’s office staff employees of the county, when they are employed by the sheriff’s office.
“The seven deputies they’re assigned to the sheriff’s office, they’ve taken them and put them on (the county’s) payroll,” he explained. “So if there’s a split, they become their deputies.”
Fenwick told Pineiroa that wasn’t true.
“If that’s not true then just leave them alone,” he countered. “That’s my staff.”
“There is no more ‘yours’ and ‘ours,’ Fenwick said. “They all belong to fiscal court now.”
“Fee pooling is you pay the bills, Rhonda,” Pineiroa responded. “That’s it.”
Fenwick said that under the new fee-pooling system, the county will pay the sheriff’s office bills — which also includes payroll for the sheriff’s office.
“I don’t have an issue with giving the money to fiscal court,” he said. Due to the differences between his budget and the one fiscal court was considering — one that was missing a number of line items the sheriff had in his budget — he would not sign the court’s version of his budget if approved.
Magistrate Adam Wheatley asked Fenwick about the discrepancy between the two budgets. Pineiroa said there had been no meeting or discussion between he and the judge or Fenwick regarding the discrepancy between the two budgets.
Fenwick assured the court that regardless of the differences between the two budgets, the county would pay all of the sheriff’s bills presented each month.
Despite those assurances, Pineiroa wasn’t happy that the budget the magistrates were about to approve lacked his input.
Magistrate Adam Wheatley said he felt the sheriff and the county treasurer should talk out the issues prior to court approval of the budget. But the sheriff’s office budget must be approved by fiscal court by Jan. 15th, a deadline that left little time to meet and negotiate.
In the end, the court voted 4-1 to approve the sheriff’s budget and pay order. Wheatley cast the only “nay” vote.
In other business, Nelson Fiscal Court:
— approved a bid of $68,154 for playground equipment that will be installed at Culvertown and Boston.
— reappointed Robert Cecil to the North Nelson Water District board of directors.
— approved the budget and maximum pay rates for the office of Nelson County Clerk Jeanette Hall Sidebottom.
— voted to approve a bid for dispatch software from Total Response for $50,938.
Heard a report that crews are already starting to move furniture back to the Old Courthouse’s second floor. The second floor offices should be able to move back in sometime next month.
NEXT UP. Nelson Fiscal Court next meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026.
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