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County manager proposes $115.99M FY2026-27 budget with 42¢ tax rate; no new full-time positions recommended
Summary
County Manager John C. Yates presented a recommended FY2026-27 budget totaling $115,989,164 with a proposed tax rate of $0.42 per $100; highlights include General Fund $98,928,365, school appropriation $20,575,735, no new full-time positions, personnel turnover concerns, ERIP options, and capital projects such as airport runway work.
County Manager John C. Yates presented the recommended fiscal year 2026-2027 budget and said the proposed tax rate is "42 cents per $100 of assessed valuation" with a total recommended budget of $115,989,164 covering General, 911, Grants, Airport, Landfill, and Volunteer Fire District funds.
Yates said the General Fund recommendation totals $98,928,365 and the recommended appropriation for the Wilkes County Board of Education is $20,575,735 (including $14,939,060 for current expense/operations and $695,250 for capital outlay). The Wilkes Community College recommendation is $4,238,895. He noted no new full-time positions are recommended for 2026-27 and presented an Early Retirement Incentive Program (ERIP) with two options, estimating potential savings of $439,336 (Option A) or $344,211 (Option B).
Yates flagged workforce turnover as a major concern: "In this current fiscal year through April (10 months) we have had 76 full time employees to leave Wilkes County, with only 9 being retirements." He also described capital projects and cost pressures: airport runway extension (estimated $14,000,000), airport wastewater infrastructure design and construction ($7,548,000 construction estimate), Hwy. 115 Betterment Project sewer estimate ($4,000,000), and several county facility repair estimates (library cooling tower $66,475; Sheriff’s chiller $200,000).
On revenue, Yates said ad valorem taxes were estimated at $42,221,980 and sales tax at $25,953,315. He proposed using a $4,028,779 appropriation of the General Fund balance to balance the recommended budget and noted the county’s unassigned fund balance was $31,694,852 as of June 30, 2025. The board set a public hearing on the proposed budget for May 19, 2026.
No formal adoption occurred at the May 5 meeting; the presentation was the manager’s recommendation to the board.
