A Public Request for Budget Transparency in Union County
Bridging Divides. Delivering Results.

To the Union County Board of County Commissioners and the Union County Board of Education:

We, the undersigned residents of Union County, are coming together through the Cross Aisle Alliance, a nonpartisan group made up of Democrats, Republicans, and unaffiliated voters.

We may not agree on every issue, but we agree on this:

Union County taxpayers, parents, educators, staff, students, and community members deserve clear and transparent information about the county and school budget.

We are respectfully asking the Union County Board of County Commissioners and the Union County Board of Education to hold a joint public budget transparency meeting.

This meeting should be a special informational meeting, not a public comment session, campaign event, or political debate. The purpose should be simple:

Explain the budget clearly, publicly, and line by line.

To keep the meeting focused and productive, we ask that there be no open-mic public comment period during this specific meeting. Instead, residents should be allowed to submit written questions in advance so county and school leaders can review them and provide clear, factual answers during the meeting.

We respectfully request that the meeting include:

1. A line-by-line explanation of the budget.
2. A clear breakdown of what UCPS requested, what was approved, and what was denied.
3. A plain-language explanation of how budget decisions impact students, educators, staff, families, and taxpayers.
4. A side-by-side explanation of county funding, state funding, school district needs, and any funding gaps.
5. A clear explanation of any cuts, increases, use of fund balance, staffing changes, program changes, or service impacts.
6. A written question process that allows residents to submit questions in advance.
7. Public access to the presentation, documents, budget materials, and answers after the meeting.
8. This request is not about party politics.

It is about public trust.

Union County residents should not have to guess where public money is going, why decisions were made, or how those decisions will affect our schools and community.

Transparency should not be partisan.

For these reasons, we respectfully ask the BOCC and BOE to schedule and publicly notice a joint budget transparency meeting as soon as possible.

Respectfully submitted,
Cross Aisle Alliance
Bridging Divides. Delivering Results.

A nonpartisan group of Union County Democrats, Republicans, and unaffiliated voters united around budget transparency, public trust, and accountable local government.