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New Swain County manager warns proposed FY2026–27 budget would draw $1.29M from fund balance; commissioners weigh cuts
Summary
The newly installed county manager presented a proposed $27.4 million budget that would appropriate about $1.29 million from fund balance, sparking discussion among commissioners about insurance costs, staffing and prioritization ahead of a June 16 posting deadline.
Swain County's new county manager presented a preliminary FY 2026–27 budget ordinance at the June 2 work session, saying the $27.4 million plan includes a proposed appropriation of roughly $1.29 million from fund balance and warning the board he is not comfortable relying on savings to cover recurring operating costs.
The manager described his first days on the job as a process of learning county revenue streams and departmental line items. He reported the county's fund balance — the so‑called "rainy day" fund — is roughly $10–11 million but said he wants to avoid drawing it down for operations. "I'm a fiscal conservative," he told the board, urging prioritization and trimming of department requests.
The session included line‑by‑line highlights and questions from commissioners. The manager said special appropriations were cut from requests in several areas, citing the Board of Education request as an example (he said its initial request was about $1.66 million and was cut in the draft to about $754,000). Commissioners discussed trimming discretionary items, phasing capital work, delaying vehicle replacement cycles and using attrition rather than layoffs to manage personnel costs.
Insurance costs drew particular attention. Commissioners and the manager cited different per‑employee cost comparisons and discussed engaging benefit brokers or the county's reinsurance group to seek a better rate; the manager said bringing per‑employee insurance costs down would materially reduce annual expenditures but that changes would take time.
The board directed the manager to prioritize mandatory services and outline what could be delayed or cut; the manager asked commissioners to provide prioritization guidance so he can prepare a version of the budget suitable for public posting. The board set a follow‑up work session for the next Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. and discussed the requirement to have materials available for public posting by June 16 to proceed with the formal adoption timeline.
