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Town council adopts Blowing Rock fiscal 2025–26 budget with no property tax increase
Summary
Council approved the FY2025–26 budget on June 10 with no change to the property tax rate, a proposed 2.5% COLA for staff and a planned use of $194,000 in fund balance.
Blowing Rock’s Town Council adopted the fiscal 2025–26 budget at its June 10 meeting, approving a plan that includes no property tax increase, a proposed 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment for employees and continued capital and debt planning.
What the council approved: The adopted budget uses a $194,000 draw from fund balance to balance the general fund rather than increasing the property tax rate. It maintains a personnel COLA of 2.5%, includes a projected 6% increase in the employer pension contribution and a projected 5% increase in health-insurance costs, and continues the town’s capital replacement schedule for fleet and parks.
Why it matters: Council and staff emphasized revenue diversification — property tax (about 45% of town revenue), sales tax (forecast +10%) and occupancy/TDA receipts (budgeted at a $2.4 million gross number) — and stressed the role of tourism in supporting services and capital projects. The manager noted the town has one of the highest bond ratings (AA+) among towns of similar size, a downward long-term debt trend and $6.4 million in unassigned fund balance (about five months of operating reserves at current spending levels).
Key budget highlights and projections: No proposed property-tax increase; general-fund revenues diversified across property taxes, sales tax and TDA; adoption of a 7% proposed increase to water/sewer rates (approximately $4 per month per customer) to preserve the enterprise fund without using fund balance; continued capital spending for fleet replacement and park projects; and planned attention to upcoming debt related to park land purchases (staff will consult the Local Government Commission as needed for any debt approvals).
Public input: Speakers at the public hearing included representatives of the Blowing Rock Civic Association and the Chamber of Commerce; comments praised the staff and asked for clearer, earlier public presentation of budget materials in future cycles. The council acknowledged those requests and staff said the town’s new finance software rollout should improve transparency.
Votes and implementation: The motion to adopt the budget passed unanimously. Staff will bring any necessary budget amendments (for example, the parking enforcement purchase) to council as separate actions and is scheduled to continue work on capital projects including Main Street paving, which staff said will begin milling operations in mid‑June.
Ending: With adoption, the manager and department heads may proceed with work identified in the budget; staff reiterated plans to continue monitoring health-insurance and retirement cost changes and to present any required adjustments later in the year.
