Chatham County presents FY 2025–26 recommended budget; proposes lower tax rate after revaluation

County staff presented the recommended fiscal year 2025–26 budget to the Chatham County Board of Commissioners on May 5, outlining revenues and proposed spending as the county implements a recent property revaluation.

Brian Thompson, presenting the budget for staff, told the board the recommended general fund tax rate is 60¢ per $100 of assessed value; he said the current tax rate is 72.5¢ and that the revenue-neutral rate after revaluation would be 52.96¢. Thompson said the recommended rate represents a reduction of 12.5¢ from the current rate while still recognizing revaluation-driven revenue changes.

Thompson described revenue assumptions and highlights in the recommended budget: property tax is the largest revenue source; permit revenue is budgeted at roughly $3.2 million; excise tax budget is shown as $11,000,000; and sales tax revenue is budgeted at $30,500,000 (a slight decrease in the staff presentation). He noted locally collected sales tax has trailed statewide averages and that some revenue sources have slowed.

On the expense side, Thompson said salary and benefit changes make up the largest increases. He listed several factors contributing to personnel costs: full-year implementation of a pay-plan update, a recommended 4% salary adjustment for employees, and expansion positions (staff presented $2,200,000 in expansion items overall, of which approximately $1.03 million is allocated to the sheriff’s office). Thompson said total new positions recommended countywide number 16.

Chatham County Schools are shown in the recommended budget with a notable increase: Thompson said the recommended transfer includes an amount identified in the packet (text reads as "$15,000,000" in the document). The presentation also included an estimate for state salary adjustments and benefit increases affecting the school budget. Thompson said the county will restore a supplemental pay component that the state removed a decade earlier for teachers holding master’s degrees.

Thompson said the sheriff’s budget recommendation includes roughly $2.3 million (a 9.4% increase over FY 2025 revised budget) and about $1.2 million in expansion requests, including funding to add seven positions (six deputy sheriffs and one accreditation support analyst) and funds for enhanced mental health services (staff said it is not yet determined whether those services will be contracted or staffed as county FTEs). The sheriff’s request also includes funding for body camera rollout and software to assist investigations.

Other items in the recommended budget included: a proposed $20 increase in the solid waste fee (from $1.37 to $1.57), a yard waste disposal fee increase from $20 to $25 per ton, and a land-clearing/inert debris disposal fee increase from $20 to $35 per ton. Staff also proposed adjustments to some planning department fees and additional fee options for aging services (for example, more tiered charges for senior-center trips and registration).

Thompson said the county expects to transfer its small utility enterprise fund assets to Tri-River prior to year end; as a result, those utility enterprises are not reflected as activity in the FY 2026 recommended budget.

Board members and members of the public asked questions during the presentation. Resident Esther Coleman told the board she is a longtime local farmer whose present-use-value (PUV) assessments increased sharply after the revaluation and asked commissioners to consider tax-rate impacts on agricultural landowners at the rate-setting stage. Thompson answered that the budget document includes the revenue-neutral rate and that public hearings will follow.

The board was told the process ahead: staff will publish the recommended budget for public inspection; the county will hold two public hearings (May 19 in Pittsboro and May 20 in Siler City), and a work session beginning May 22; staff will return with a revised budget for the board’s consideration for adoption on June 16.

Quotations from the meeting: "This is the first budget following the revaluation," Brian Thompson said. "The revenue neutral rate ... would be 52.96. The recommended budget is proposing a 60¢ per $100 valuation," Thompson said. Resident Esther Coleman said, "My PUV value has gone up $166,248 since the last round of appraisals... I have appealed the reevaluations." The transcript contains more details in the published budget document.

Clarifying notes: dollar figures and some line-item details are reported as stated in the staff presentation. Staff told the board the budget document (500+ pages) is available for public inspection and contains full line-item detail and revenue/expenditure schedules for review.

Next steps: two public hearings (May 19, Pittsboro; May 20, Siler City), a work session on or after May 22, and board consideration of an adopted budget on June 16.

Votes at a glance: this meeting included presentation and discussion only; no final budget vote was taken.