York County approves budget first reading after heated debate over recreation tax and parks funding

York County Council approved first reading of the county’s fiscal 2026 operating budget on May 5 after several hours of debate that focused on parks funding, a long-running reconciliation over the York County recreation tax district and how the county should allocate hospitality and millage funds for parks and recreation.

What passed: The council voted 5–2 to approve first reading of the budget, sending it forward for a public hearing on May 13 and second reading on May 19.

Key numbers and items in the proposed budget - Total budget (first reading): approximately $483 million, with a general fund of about $173.4 million. The recommended budget included a proposed 3.5% merit-based raise for employees and 34.63 full-time equivalent positions across county departments, 18.63 of them in the general fund. - Capital program: approximately $584 million in combined capital requests (14/20 and related funds). - Manager’s note: the budget uses a preliminary 3.9% health-insurance increase; state budget actions could raise that to about 4.6% and reduce other revenue, which would have an approximate $100,000 impact and potential $300,000–$400,000 revenue exposure depending on state decisions about vehicle excise tax changes.

Parks and the recreation-tax dispute The meeting’s lengthiest debate centered on how to replace and reconfigure a long-standing York County recreation tax that has been used to help unincorporated residents participate in municipal recreation programs. The manager recommended abolishing the special York County recreation tax district (which levied 1.5 mills in the unincorporated area) and replacing it with a countywide 1.5-mill levy for parks — a change intended to centralize planning and increase funding for county parks such as Catawba Bend and Ebenezer Park.

Council reaction split: supporters of the manager’s proposal argued the county must be able to fund its growing parks system and operating needs, including staffing for new county parks. Opponents argued the proposal amounted to a second tax layer that would double-charge some residents and called for a more incremental, data-driven approach based on registration counts and verified resident addresses.

Votes and minutes - An amendment to reinsert a separate 1.5-mill unincorporated tax (effectively keeping both the existing unincorporated tax and adding the new countywide 1.5-mill levy) failed 5–2. Several council members said they opposed duplicative taxation and sought clearer, data-driven allocations. - Council ultimately voted 5–2 to approve first reading of the budget ordinance and to proceed with the manager’s recommended approach (countywide millage and ending the special recreation tax district; council later approved first reading of an ordinance to abolish the York County recreation tax district by a separate 5–2 vote).

Manager and staff follow-up County staff committed to provide additional data to council, including verified registrant addresses for municipal recreation programs and a follow-up report on hospitality-tax usage and commitments for park capital and operations. Council members asked staff to return with options for allocating funds, including a $75-per-registrant stipend model the manager proposed for youth recreation as an initial, verifiable method of reconciling funds with municipal programming.

Why it matters: The county is building a larger parks system and preparing to operate new facilities that require predictable ongoing funding for maintenance and staff. Council’s decisions will affect where the county invests capital and how municipalities and county residents share costs for active programming.

Ending: Staff will present additional data and options at the May 13 budget public hearing and workshop; council’s decisions in subsequent readings will finalize levy and allocation language.