Rutherford County holds public hearing on $117.99 million budget; commissioners proposed to use $6.1 million from fund balance
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Summary
County manager presented a fiscal year 2025–26 proposed budget that holds the property tax rate steady, recommends a 4% cost-of-living adjustment, adds positions and uses $6,107,102 from fund balance; public commenters focused on school funding and the allocation for school resource officers and teacher supplements.
Rutherford County held a public hearing June 2 on the proposed fiscal year 2025–26 budget that recommends a total budget of $117,990,799 for all funds and a general fund budget of $87,691,194, a 9.74% increase over the current year.
County staff described key elements of the proposal. The manager reported the recommended property tax rate would be maintained at 45.4 (no increase). The proposal assumes a 10% increase in health insurance costs, a 9.62% increase in law enforcement separation allowance, and a 9% rise in risk-management liability costs. The recommended personnel actions include 13 new positions (12 full-time, one temporary) and a 4% cost-of-living adjustment effective October 2025. The budget includes $299,500 for the capital facility plan and $626,377 for IT investments, plus funding for camera systems and replacement public-safety software.
To balance the budget, finance staff recommended using $6,107,102 from the general-fund balance. County officials said the amount was chosen to present a balanced budget while preserving credit ratings and avoiding placement on the Local Government Commission watch list; the manager warned the county should monitor revenue trends closely for FY 2026–27 given uncertainty in sales and occupancy tax collections following Hurricane Helene.
The proposed appropriations for education include $4,963,017 for Isothermal Community College (including $1.7 million for capital outlay) and a total county appropriation of $27,060,555 for Rutherford County Schools, which includes $18,368,689 toward operations, $1,486,828 for teacher supplements and $1,619,017 to fund school resource officers (SROs). County staff said the SRO line reflected the full county cost; school officials and multiple public commenters said available grant funds reduce the district’s net need for local current-expense funds.
During the public hearing, school board members and teachers’ supporters urged the commissioners to reconsider the earmarks for SROs and teacher supplements. A school-board member, speaking as both a board member and citizen, said "the current funding proposal…will actually give the public school system less usable local expense monies given the earmarks on both the SROs and the teacher supplement." The school system’s representative said $689,200 would fully fund SROs in all schools based on current grant funding; other commenters called for clearer accounting and for the county to avoid increasing property taxes.
County staff emphasized no action would be taken at the hearing and that the commissioners will consider final votes at a later meeting. The budget will return to the board for decisions at the next scheduled session.
