Yancey County manager presents balanced $37.08 million budget; recommends holding property tax rate at $0.52

County Manager Lynn Austin presented the Yancey County proposed fiscal year 2025-2026 budget at the board's June 9 meeting, describing a balanced general fund with total revenues and expenditures of $37,084,332.

"The proposed budget sets forth a plan of operations for all County departments, programs, and capital projects for the coming year," Austin said in the written budget message. The message, submitted under North Carolina General Statute 159-11, also states: "This proposed budget is balanced in accordance with the Local Government Budget and Fiscal Control Act with general fund revenues and expenditures each totaling $37,084,332."

Austin's message attributes revenue uncertainty to the county's 2024 property reappraisal and damage from Hurricane Helene, noting that department funding requests exceeded projected revenues by $432,610 during the development process. To produce a balanced budget, management recommended keeping the property tax rate at $0.52 per $100 of valuation; the budget message projects that rate would yield an estimated $18,063,601 in property tax…