Aerial video along the Swannanoa River reveals the wrath of Tropical Storm Helene
Aerial video along the Swannanoa River between Black Mountain and Asheville reveals the devastation of Tropical Storm Helene.
- Buncombe County’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 includes a 3.26-cent property tax increase to offset revenue shortfalls in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Helene.
- The budget prioritizes essential services, including $122 million for education, though still short requests from Asheville City Schools and Buncombe County Schools.
ASHEVILLE – Described as a “break-even budget” focused on essential government services and recovery in the wake of Tropical Storm Helene, Buncombe County’s proposed spending plan will require a property tax hike to meet those priorities.
During the May 6 regular meeting of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, County Manager Avril Pinder outlined next fiscal year’s recommended budget, which includes a 3.26-cent property tax increase, raising the rate by 6% to 55.02 cents per $100 of assessed value. The increase would net the county an estimated $17.1 million next fiscal year. For a home valued at $350,000, the increase would raise tax bills by $114.
Buncombe’s total proposed 2025 operational budget is $624 million, including a general fund budget of $435 million.
The proposed tax increase comes after Helene killed more than 40 people in the county and damaged more than 12,000 homes when the storm hit last September, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
It also devastated the local economy, causing significant drops in sales and occupancy taxes and forcing nearly 7,000 business to apply for disaster assistance loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration, according to the county.
In March, more than five months after the storm, Buncombe County’s unemployment rate was still greater than 5%. Before Helene, the county boasted the lowest rate in the state at 2.5%.
“This budget must be considered in the context of the state’s worst natural disaster and the resulting economic conditions,” Pinder told commissioners.
If passed by commissioners in June, the county’s budget would dedicate nearly $122 million to education, but still short of funding requests from both Asheville City Schools and Buncombe County Schools, who earlier in the year had more than $4 million total slashed from their budgets as commissioners tried to close a revenue shortfall estimated at the time to be upward of $25 million.
Over the last few weeks, parents and teachers at Asheville City Schools have been advocating for an even greater tax hike to fund the district.
The recommended budget includes $95.8 million for Buncombe County Schools; $17.3 million for Asheville City Schools; and $8.4 million for Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College.
The spending plan also includes $99 million for public safety; $97 million for human services; $66 million for government services like elections, tax collection and information technology; $18 million for debt service; and $12 million for parks, libraries and other cultural and recreational services.
A more than 3% cost of living adjustment for county staff is also budgeted into the plan.
A public hearing on the proposed budget will be held May 20, with commissioners voting on the budget June 3.
Jacob Biba is the Helene recovery reporter at the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Email him at jbiba@citizentimes.com.
