A new state law that freezes property tax reappraisals in North Carolina could force Buncombe County to reopen its budget just days after the new fiscal year begins.
The law, signed Friday by Gov. Josh Stein, temporarily blocks counties from using 2026 property tax reappraisals to calculate tax bills. In Buncombe County, where reassessments became effective on Jan. 1, reverting to older values could result in an estimated $2 million budget gap.
Now, some officials, including Stein, are urging lawmakers to pass a follow-up bill that would exempt counties still recovering from Hurricane Helene.
“The cost of living is too high. This law provides tax relief for North Carolinians who are feeling pain in their pocketbooks,” Stein said in a statement. “But the law helps residents in only a few counties, and it is not our most effective method of lowering costs. We must make life more affordable, which is why I’m pushing to cut taxes for working and middle class families and lower housing, electricity, child care, and health care costs.”
The moratorium is set to take effect on July 1, the start of the new fiscal year.
The recent reappraisal has alarmed many Buncombe residents, who expressed “sticker shock” over the steep increases in their property values, which ranged from 25% to 324%, according to a data analysis from Asheville Watchdog.
Supporters of the freeze maintain that it protects residents from sudden tax spikes, while local government officials worry the timing could destabilize budgets that have already been adopted.
“We’re kind of in a pickle because Asheville and Buncombe County, for example, have already passed our budgets using the new values,” Manheimer said at Monday’s meeting for the Governor's Advisory Committee on WNC Recovery. “So for those legislators that are on the call, I urge your exemption of the Helene counties so that we’re not in turmoil here.”
This year’s budget season was already tight for the city and county. Both municipalities increased property taxes on residents by more than 10% in order to balance the books. In Asheville, city council narrowly approved the tax increase, with some council members arguing for more austerity and cuts to services.
Where does this leave local budgets?
A second bill, Senate Bill 474, would exempt Buncombe and other Helene-impacted municipalities from the moratorium.
That bill has already passed in the House and could be taken up for a vote from the Senate as early as Tuesday.
Even if the moratorium remains in place, the law may not bring the relief residents are hoping for. That’s because governments that lose significant revenue are allowed to amend their budgets and increase property tax rates, according to state law.
Lillian Govus, a spokesperson for Buncombe County, confirmed that the county would be allowed to vote on a new budget and tax rate anytime between July 1 and Jan. 1.
But that maneuver would be costly in terms of staff time and resources, she said.
“If we are not exempted then we will have to come back and rebrief on the budget after July 1,” she told BPR. “All of that diversion of work certainly amounts to a dollar figure we can’t qualify but there’s a tremendous amount of work of taking this information and making it usable.”
