Buncombe County adopts $610M budget, raises property taxes for salaries, schools

ASHEVILLE - The Buncombe County Commission at its June 20 meeting unanimously adopted a $610.4 million budget for the 2024 fiscal year, which starts July 1. The budget includes increases for schools, public safety and a 7.28% cost of living salary increase for all regular county employees. It also details how the county plans to deploy opioid settlement funding.

Commissioners voted to increase the Buncombe County property tax rate by 1 cent per $100 to 49.8 cents per $100 of assessed value. That means a $350,000 home with $1,708 in property taxes last year will now have $1,743 this year.

Buncombe County Budget Director John Hudson said during his presentation that this increase would create $5.1 million in revenue. Commission Chair Brownie Newman said that Asheville City schools will get “an equal amount proportional to the number of students they have.”

Newman said the addition could increase teacher pay by 2%.

Newman later noted that “raising the property tax is literally a tax on housing in our community.” He continued, “At the same time we’re cognizant that we’re taking the funds out of working people’s pockets.”

The commission approved what could become $113.3 million for K-12 schools, depending on education increases currently before the North Carolina General Assembly. Commissioners allocated $86.6 million for Buncombe County Schools, and $16.1 million for Asheville City Schools, although it was far less than the districts had requested.

"While we appreciate the sentiment behind the commissioner's words of support for our schools, the budget does not reflect that support," Shanna Peele, president of the Buncombe County Association of Educators, said in an email after the vote June 20. "This moment needs to be a wake up call to spark further discussions on what our community's children need. As public school staff, this is only the beginning and not the end of our fight for the schools our students deserve."

Commissioners also approved $89.7 million for public safety, up from $83.1 million the year prior. Of this increase, $3.6 million went toward salaries in the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office and the downtown jail. According to Sheriff's spokesman Aaron Sarver, the money will go toward raises in each office. The county devoted an additional $1 million to 911 operations, including almost doubling the amount allocated for overtime to $200,000.

More: Buncombe County FY 24 budget what to know: Salary increases, public safety, homelessness

In a Mar. 21 request for Board Action to the Commission, County Strategy and Innovation Director Rafael Baptista requested implementing crisis pay to help with increased 911 call volume and staffing shortages amongst 911 operators. The commission approved the request.

The Commission’s Capital Project Fund also includes information on how Buncombe County plans to spend the money it received from the $26 billion 2021 settlement that Attorney General Josh Stein brokered with Cardinal, McKesson, AmerisourceBergen, and Johnson & Johnson for their role in the opioid crisis. Buncombe County will receive more than $16 million from 2022 to 2038.

Buncombe County approved spending through 2026 on strategic planning, recovery support services and Naloxone, the drug that reverses opioid overdoses. They appropriated $4.9 million in the funds to those areas. The commission created eight new positions through the Settlement Fund: a community paramedic program supervisor, three community paramedics, three community paramedic supervisors, and one engagement specialist.

More: Asheville passes $240M budget; pay increases for police, other staff; uses fund balance

The budget is the culmination of a six-month process that began in Dec. 2022. Commissioners set out five priorities for the budget: public safety, homelessness and continuum of care, early childhood workforce development, infrastructure, and school system consolidation. As part of the adopted budget, county employees will receive a 7.28% cost of living increase; this measured by evaluating the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers.

Other county business

The commission unanimously approved deploying ExpressVote machines for early voting in Buncombe County. According to the request for board action brought by Election Services Director, Corinne Duncan, buying the 140 machines cost $604,225 and is included in the budget. These voting machines use touch screens and produce paper records employed to tabulate votes.

More: Buncombe County Commission considers moving public meetings to mornings, some object

Commissioners also all voted to certify the Buncombe County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council and its annual plan. The JCPC is a state-mandated organization dedicated to reducing and preventing juvenile crime. Commissioners allocated $644,477 as part of the budget.

A $650,000 project to study the feasibility and build a mobile Emergency Management Services base on the Asheville Primary School site was also approved by the Commission. The Commission took the $650,000 from the previously approved budget to build the base, allowing the county to okay the project without allocating new funding.

Mitchell Black is the Citizen Times County Issues Reporter. Email him at MBlack@citizentimes.com or follow him on Twitter @MitchABlack.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Buncombe County votes to raise property taxes for salaries and schools