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Haywood County presents $111.9 million recommended budget; tax rate to stay at $0.55
Summary
County budget analyst Will Scarborough presented a $111,877,648 manager-recommended general fund budget for FY2025–26, citing $5.5 million in cuts from department requests and a plan to use about $10.96 million of fund balance to avoid raising the tax rate.
Haywood County budget analyst Will Scarborough told the Board of Commissioners on May 19 that the manager-recommended general fund budget for fiscal year 2025–26 totals $111,877,648, down from departmental requests that aggregated about $117,440,568. Scarborough said the recommended package trims roughly $5.5 million from department requests while keeping the county tax rate unchanged at $0.55 per $100 of valuation.
"The department request came in at 117,440,568," Scarborough said during his slide presentation. "The manager recommended budget once we made cuts ended up at 111,877,648 million. So in total, we cut about 5,500,000 out of the request to get our recommended budget." He also said the county anticipates a property tax collection rate of 98.18% and plans to appropriate $10,961,097 of fund balance to balance the budget.
Scarborough reviewed major revenue drivers — property tax as the largest source, a modest sales-tax projection, and adjustments to other taxes and licenses — and outlined major expenditure increases including salaries and benefits, foster-care costs and debt related to the jail expansion. He said employee compensation in the recommended budget includes a 2% merit pool and a 3% cost-of-living adjustment, estimated to cost about $2.3 million, and that medical insurance premiums are being held flat for the year.
Commissioners probed several line items during a question-and-answer period. One commissioner noted the nearly $11 million draw on fund balance used to avoid a rate increase; another raised concerns about the sustained growth of foster-care expenses. Staff highlighted that foster care is the principal driver of health and human services increases and that average monthly children in county custody have risen in recent years.
The presentation also covered capital needs — vehicles, HVAC and roof repairs, and equipment replacements — and the county's plan to modernize a radio system requested by the sheriff's office. Scarborough said vehicle purchases include 18 vehicles at a total cost of about $1.4 million, most for public safety and emergency services.
The board scheduled formal consideration of budget adoption for the next regular meeting on June 2 at 9 a.m. at the courthouse.
