Buncombe County holds public hearing on manager’s proposed FY26 budget as residents urge no cuts to schools

The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners held a public hearing May 20 on County Manager Pender’s recommended fiscal year 2026 budget, which proposes a general fund budget of $434,984,111 and a recommended tax rate increase of 3.26¢ to 55.02¢ per $100 of assessed value to balance the books.

County Budget Director John Hudson told commissioners the FY26 recommendation responds to revenue pressures and higher personnel costs. “Revenues were down $11,400,000 from fiscal year 25 with unrestricted revenue down 3.49%,” Hudson said, noting that health insurance and retirement cost increases added about $2.7 million to expenditures. The recommended budget delays new PAYGO capital projects and reduces operating budgets and discretionary community investments to preserve essential county operations.

The recommended budget funds education at $121.8 million, including $113.2 million allocated to K–12 schools; that level is lower than the county provided in recent years. Hudson outlined scenarios showing what additional tax rate increases would be needed to restore prior funding levels, including a 0.79¢ increase (on top of the recommended 3.26¢) to return to a pre-storm funding level of $117.3 million for K–12.

Why it matters: commissioners must adopt a balanced budget under state law, but the proposed reductions to school funding prompted a large public turnout. Many speakers said the cuts would harm already stretched schools following COVID-19 and Hurricane Helene, and urged commissioners to raise revenue instead of reducing education spending.

During two hours of public comment, more than 40 residents — parents, teachers, school staff and community advocates — urged the board to maintain pre-Helene staffing and programs. “Cutting funding sends the wrong message that our children and educators are not worth the investment,” parent Kristen Winstead said. Multiple teachers and school staff described the role of instructional assistants, counselors and school transportation in students’ day-to-day stability; several speakers asked the board to consider modest property tax increases to protect programs.

School funding specifics and tradeoffs were highlighted by Hudson and members of the public. He told the board the recommended budget is balanced without an appropriation of fund balance and that the three largest revenue sources are property tax (60.6%), intergovernmental revenues (11%) and sales tax (10%). He described a recommended tax rate that would add $114 annually (about $9.50 per month) to the tax bill of a home valued at $350,000.

Public commenters described concrete local impacts they expect from cuts: potential loss of music and arts programs, fewer instructional assistants and counselors, and reduced transportation and other services. “If my son can’t have a 1-to-1 assistant to help him go to the bathroom at school, he can’t go to school,” teacher Sawyer Johnston said.

Some speakers, including representatives of business groups, urged restraint on tax increases because many homeowners and small businesses are still recovering from Helene. Patty Beaver of the Council of Independent Business Owners asked the board to “show restraint in expanding the county’s annual budget.” Others — including seniors, longtime residents and younger residents — described financial strain from rising costs but said they would support modest tax increases to protect schools.

What’s next: commissioners conducted the public hearing May 20 and were invited to attend a public education town hall scheduled May 27 to continue the conversation. Hudson said the next formal step is the board’s budget adoption session, scheduled two weeks after the hearing, where commissioners will consider proposed changes and adoption.

Discussion vs. decision: the hearing collected public input and does not adopt the budget. No final tax-rate adoption occurred at this meeting; the budget remains the manager’s recommendation until board adoption is scheduled.

Provenance: - topicintro: transcript block starting 2121.075–2146.1748 — "Good evening. Good evening. Commissioners, we are here tonight for a public hearing on the recommended budget for fiscal year 20 26. This is the last step in our budget process before adoption." (John Hudson) - topfinish: transcript block starting 6560.685–6565.3447 — "I will close the public hearing at 07:12. Right. And we we we do have a public hearing on the economic development." (Chair Amanda Edwards)