Henderson commissioners this week unanimously passed the county’s upcoming fiscal year budget, which won’t bring a property tax rate increase.
The county stands as an outlier in Western North Carolina by keeping its property tax rate steady despite economic fallout from Hurricane Helene. Officials said local sales tax revenues may decline over the next year, even as tourism and revenue are expected to grow in other parts of the state.
Still, the county projects that an expanding tax base will support the $215.8 million budget, which increases spending by $11 million compared to last year.
Commissioners avoided raising taxes in part by digging into Henderson’s municipal fund balance or savings generally carried over from excess revenue year over year. The fiscal year 2026 spending plan for the county calls for using $21 million from Henderson’s fund balance.
That leaves $23.9 million in the fund, which is usually used for emergencies, to avoid cash flow interruptions and to support short-term borrowing.
Under state law, counties must maintain at least 8% of the value of their expenditures in a fund balance. In Henderson, leaders have long aimed to reserve at least 12%.
The amount of money in the fund balance also affects the county's credit rating when borrowing for large capital projects.
At a county meeting this week, commissioners heard from members of the public who advocated for fully funding budget requests from local public school leaders. – The approved budget allocates more than $37.8 million to local K-12 schools, which is on par with what area education officials asked for.
County officials praised agencies like the public school system for keeping their budgets trim and efficient.
Local spending on K-12 schools and Blue Ridge Community College amounts to about 30% of Henderson County’s annual budget. Other approved budget items include:
- $53 million – about a quarter of the budget – for public safety agencies, including the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office, fire departments, emergency medical services and the rescue squad.
- $56.2 million – about 30% of the budget – for public education, including public schools and Blue Ridge Community College.
- $20.8 on Social Services – which include foster care, adult day-care programs and child protective services.
An approved increase to fire inspection fees for the coming year will also fund an additional fire marshal position.
The budget passed as commissioners are spending about $1.5 million a month for debris removal services related to Helene cleanup. The money has so far come from $15 million given to the county from FEMA, but it is set to run out by July. Future costs, county officials hope, will be reimbursed by FEMA and the state.
County Manager John Mitchell said he is hopeful that the money will be quickly reimbursed by federal and state agencies, though he warned that if it is not, he will pause the debris removal.
