Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County manager proposes FY26 budget with 3.26¢ tax increase, schedules May 20 public hearing
Summary
County Manager presented a $435 million general fund recommended budget for FY26 that recommends a 3.26¢ property tax increase to balance lower revenues after Tropical Storm Helene; the board set a public hearing for May 20.
Buncombe County Manager Pinder presented her recommended fiscal year 2026 budget on May 6, proposing a $435 million general fund and recommending a 3.26¢ increase per $100 of assessed value to balance lower revenues following Tropical Storm Helene.
Pinder told the board the budget ‘‘must be considered in the context of the state's worst natural disaster’’ and described storm damage, ongoing recovery operations and continuing revenue pressure. The recommended budget includes a 3.09% cost-of-living adjustment for county staff, no new positions (with two reclassifications), and maintains core operations while reducing overall expenditures by about 2.1% from the amended FY25 budget, she said.
The manager said the recommended tax-rate change would bring the county rate to 55.02¢ per $100 valuation and illustrated the household impact: about $114 annually for a home assessed at $350,000 (about $9.51 per month). Pinder also said projected revenues have declined — occupancy tax and sales tax collections are down — and that fund balance dipped below the policy target after prior-year uses tied to Helene recovery and is not available to balance FY26.
Budget director John Hudson joined the presentation to detail functional spending and capital priorities. The recommended budget keeps education as the largest single function (about 28% of the general fund), and lists public safety and human services as the next largest categories. The recommendation includes $4 million of debt-financed capital projects for facilities maintenance and three ambulances, with most capital expenditures structured to avoid immediate FY26 operating impacts.
The manager said a public hearing on the recommended budget will be held at the board's next regular meeting on May 20 at 5 p.m., after which the board may adjust the proposal before final adoption. She noted potential state-level funding sources under discussion that could mitigate some K–12 reductions and said the reappraisal scheduled for FY26 will inform a longer-term tax-rate decision.
The presentation prompted questions from commissioners; no final adoption occurred at the meeting. The board scheduled the public hearing for May 20.
