A Raleigh-based think tank gave Nash County a low grade for the growth of its government.

The study by the conservative-leaning John W. Pope Civitas Institute looked at how counties expanded their government work forces over a 10-year span in comparison to the growth of the area’s private sector jobs.

Private sector jobs in Nash County have declined in the past 10 years, while county jobs grew, giving the county a “D” grade. The study looked at job growth from 2000 to 2009 for each of North Carolina’s 100 counties.

Civitas Institute analyst Brian Balfour said Nash County received its grade because county government workers increased at a rate of more than twice as fast as the county’s population growth. He said the trend should raise a red flag for those residents interested in limiting government growth.

“At a time of heightened concern over the explosive growth of government, citizens should be concerned about their county government adding workers at a pace faster than population growth — or even as the county sheds private sector jobs,” Balfour said.

The Civitas Institute’s grade scale goes from an “A” to “F.”

An “A” was awarded to counties that managed to shrink the number of government workers, while increasing population.

Edgecombe County received a “B” for decreasing its government work force by 18 percent in the past decade, while the county’s population dropped 8 percent. Private sector jobs in Edgecombe fell 27 percent.

The study shows Nash County’s government work force in 2000 was 550 employees and increased to 687 by the 2008-09 fiscal year, almost a 25 percent increase. The county’s population increased by about 10 percent over the same period.

Close to 37,000 residents were employed in the private sector in 2000. But that number decreased to about 34,000 in April 2009, a decrease of about 8 percent.

County Manager Bob Murphy said a bulk of the increase in government jobs is attributed to combining Stony Creek and Mount Pleasant emergency medical services with Nash County in 2006. The Nash County Sheriff’s Office also has hired more deputies in the past two years with the help of state grant funding. The growth of the county’s cultural and recreation department also contributed to the increase.

The job growth has added better quality and efficiency to overall services, Murphy said.

“I wish (the institute) would not jump to conclusions without exploring the county’s benefits,” Murphy said in a telephone interview.

Finance Director Lynne Anderson said there are discrepancies with the Civitas Insititute’s report because it includes full-time and part-time employees.

A 2009 Nash County financial report states that the government work force increased from 581 full-time employees in 2000 to 675 employees, which is a 16 percent increase. Anderson added that the county has held down expenses per budget year as the work force has increased.

The county’s budget has increased 32 percent during the 10-year-span, compared to the statewide average of 48 percent, Anderson said.

“We obviously have made efforts to hold down our costs over the years,” she said. “The county has been very conservative in maintaining tight fiscal budgets.”