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HOLDEN BEACH — About 75 people attended an inaugural meeting last week of the newly forming Lockwood Inlet Association, whose mission is to address concerns about shoaling, safety issues and direly needed dredging for the shallow-draft inlet between Holden Beach and Oak Island.

BOLIVIA — Brunswick County Manager Ann Hardy presented the 2017-18 budget proposal to county commissioners Monday night, proposing an operating budget of $233.4 million with no increase in the tax rate or fees.

The property tax rate would remain at 48.50 cents for a third year.

The total general government debt service budget would be $13,818,449. The total principal payments on general fund debt are $11,210,001 with interest and service fee payments equaling approximately $2.6 million.

BELVILLE — North Carolina public schools, including those in Brunswick County, will see a reduction in class sizes for grades K-3 come fall, though not as drastically as first expected.

Signed by Gov. Roy Cooper on April 27, House Bill 13 is touted as a compromise that continues reducing elementary school class sizes over the next two years while addressing local concerns about special subject-area teachers in the classroom.

Brunswick County Schools will begin to phase in the mandatory class-size reductions in grades K-3 during the 2017-18 school year.

While Brunswick County officials wait to see if Senate Bill 126 is approved and redistributes sales taxes, House Bill 398 remains in play and could offer a small source of beach and waterway funding.

Rep. Frank Iler of Oak Island filed HB 398 on March 16. The bill would allow Brunswick County commissioners or municipal board members to levy a prepared food and drink tax up to one-half percent of the sales price at restaurants or groceries and stores where food is prepared, such as a grocer’s deli.