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Ashe County adopts $166.58 million FY25-26 budget; property tax rate held at 44 cents
Summary
The Ashe County Board of Commissioners approved the FY 2025–26 budget ordinance of $166,579,288, held the ad valorem tax rate at $0.44 per $100 of assessed value, set fire district levies and adopted new fee schedules and plans including inspections fee increases and the JCPC county plan.
The Ashe County Board of Commissioners voted to approve the FY 2025–26 budget ordinance totaling $166,579,288 and set the county ad valorem tax rate at 44 cents per $100 of assessed value.
In the motion read aloud at the meeting, the board also set fire district tax rates per $100 of assessed value for fiscal year 2025–26 as follows: Creston 6 cents; Fleetwood 4 cents; Glendale Springs 7 cents; Lansing 6 cents; Warrensville 12 cents; Jefferson 3.9 cents; New River 7 cents; West Jefferson 6 cents; Laurel Springs 7 cents; Pond Mountain 8 cents; Todd 7 cents; Deep Gap 4 cents. The board set the Rescue MS tax district rate at 2.4 cents per $100; allocation language included in the motion regarding distribution of that revenue was not fully clear in the meeting record. The motion also set landfill tipping fees effective July 1 at $65 for commercial, $55 for industrial and $45 for LCID.
The motion carried on a voice vote with commissioners saying “all in favor” and the chair declaring the motion carried. No roll-call vote or individual vote tallies were recorded in the meeting transcript.
During the same session, the board adopted an updated inspections department permit-fee schedule and a new fire marshal fee schedule. County staff (fire marshal Josh Steelman and chief building inspector Brian Carson were named in the meeting packet) had recommended raising many permit fees by $25 to align with neighboring counties and restructuring periodic fire-inspection fees into square-footage “buckets” to make fees easier to communicate and calculate. The board voted to adopt those fee schedules on a motion and voice vote.
The board also approved the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council (JCPC) annual county plan and reappointed listed JCPC members to terms through June 2027. Ashe County commissioners were asked to provide a customary 20% county match for JCPC programs; the plan and reappointments were approved by motion and a voice vote.
Other routine items — approval of the consent agenda and continuation of the public hearing process required by statute — were completed during the meeting. The public hearing on the proposed FY25–26 budget was opened and closed as required by General Statute 159-12(b) (as cited in the meeting record).
No county action at the meeting appropriated funds specifically to build a new animal shelter; several public commenters asked commissioners to include architectural design work or to reserve space in current infrastructure plans for a future shelter during budget planning.
Votes at a glance - FY 2025–26 budget ordinance (total $166,579,288) — outcome: approved (voice vote). Motion text as read by the board included the tax rates and fee settings described above. - Inspections department permit-fee schedule and fire marshal fee schedule — outcome: approved (voice vote). Staff cited alignment with neighboring counties and a new square-footage structure for fire inspections. - JCPC annual county plan — outcome: approved (voice vote). The board approved the customary 20% county match for JCPC programs as presented in the plan packet. - JCPC reappointments (members to serve through June 2027) — outcome: approved (voice vote).
