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Avery County adopts $42.4 million 2026–27 budget; tax rate held at 40 cents
Summary
The Avery County Board of Commissioners approved the fiscal year 2026–27 budget, keeping the combined county and fire tax rate at 40 cents per $100 of assessed value and appropriating $3.6 million from fund balance to balance the budget.
The Avery County Board of Commissioners voted to adopt the fiscal year 2026–27 budget on June 1, approving a total general fund budget of $42.4 million and keeping the county's combined tax rate at 40 cents per $100 of assessed value.
The budget message, read into the record under North Carolina General Statute 159-11, cited a county property valuation of $6.699 billion (an increase of 3.77% from the prior year) and said the county will continue a conservative approach to balancing revenues and expenditures. The general fund tax rate remains at 33.5 cents and the countywide fire tax at 6.5 cents, producing the combined 40-cent rate.
Officials said current inflationary pressures and recovery costs from Tropical Storm Helen required using fund balance to stabilize the rate. Presenter materials state the budget appropriates $3.6 million from fund balance to balance operations.
Departmental highlights include a $832,333 increase for public safety (which the presentation credited with funding an ambulance, vehicle shares, and two additional positions), an increase in health-insurance costs for county employees, and modest changes across transportation, environmental protection, and other departments. Education operational funding was reported at $7,224,285; local tax dollars committed to schools including capital and debt service were presented as $7,670,000 for 2026–27, and the semiannual debt service for Avery High School was cited at $950,000.
During public comment, resident Mr. Barry thanked the board and staff for keeping the tax rate at 40 cents and praised county administration. Commissioners described the budget process as grounded in projected revenues and noted substantial insurance cost increases drove some budget growth.
The board closed the public hearing and then voted to approve the budget as presented. Names were not recorded in the excerpted transcript for each roll-call vote in the meeting record provided.
The budget ordinance and detailed line items were attached to the presentation and will govern county expenditures through June 30, 2027; staff said they will continue to return to the board for project-specific appropriations and grant acceptances as needed.
