Buncombe County manager presents FY26 budget with $16.8M gap; proposes 3.21¢ county tax increase

Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder and Budget Director John Hudson told commissioners at a May budget work session that the county’s second-pass fiscal year 2026 budget still shows a gap of about $16.8 million and would require a county property tax increase of roughly 3.21¢ per $100 of assessed value to close the gap if no further cuts are made.

Hudson said the draft expenditure budget would be $434.7 million, a 2.1% reduction from the FY25 amended budget, after staff identified about $2.4 million in additional revenues and approved $4.6 million in cuts and pauses to discretionary community investments. Those pauses include affordable housing services, strategic partnership grants, community recreation grants and a reduction in conservation easement funding, among other items.

The manager and finance staff described additional cost pressures that remain: new debt service tied to recent vehicle purchases, rising utilities and insurance, and projected salary and fringe increases for employees. With the current assumptions, Hudson said a 3.21¢ increase would raise the county’s current tax rate from about 5.176¢ to roughly 5.497¢ and would add about $112 in annual property tax on a residence assessed at $350,000.

Why it matters: county staff framed this as a second-pass budget meant to preserve core services while balancing fiscal and recovery responsibilities. Commissioners were asked to give guidance before the manager presents a recommended budget at the first Tuesday meeting in May, with a formal public hearing and adoption scheduled for later in the budget cycle.

Key details and context

- Gap and reductions: Hudson said the county narrowed the budget gap from $22.5 million to $16.8 million after revenue adjustments and identified program pauses totaling $4.6 million. The remaining gap drives the 3.21¢ estimate.

- Discretionary investment choices: The recommended pauses include the county’s reparations contribution, parts of the strategic partnership grants program, and other discretionary community investments. Health & Human Services recommended reducing supplemental HCCBG funding by $125,000 because it cannot use the full allocation this year.

- Schools and other asks: County staff noted separately presented requests from Buncombe County Schools, Asheville City Schools and AB Tech. Hudson said funding all of the school requests presented that day would add roughly another 2.5¢ to the county tax rate (bringing the total county-level increase to roughly 5.7¢ if commissioners elected to fully fund those requests).

- Disaster cash flow and recovery: Staff confirmed they are pursuing state and federal disaster loan and reimbursement programs to lessen one-time cash pressures from Hurricane Helene, but cautioned those funds are uncertain and would not replace recurring operational revenue needs.

- Timeline: Manager Pinder will present a recommended budget to the board at the next scheduled meeting; commissioners will have 2 weeks before the public hearing and 2 weeks thereafter to adopt the budget.

Quotes

"This brings us back to the fiscal year 26 budget. Since our last meeting we have reviewed revenues and expenditures," Budget Director John Hudson said in opening the county budget summary.

"Based on slide 30, there have been no additional movements to make any reductions to the discretionary community investments," County Manager Avril Pinder said, asking commissioners for guidance on whether and how to incorporate the school requests into the recommended budget.

Ending

Commissioners asked staff for follow-up figures and for side-by-side comparisons of fund-balance calculations and school requests before finalizing guidance. Manager Pinder will present the recommended budget at the next regular meeting, and commissioners will take a public hearing and adopt the budget in subsequent meetings.