Politics

In ‘pleasant surprise,’ county budget holds the line on property tax rate

Bar graph shows Henderson County property tax rate since 1999. Since 2007, commissioners have adopted a rate after revaluations and maintained the rate for four years. [HENDERSON COUNTY FINANCE OFFICE]

By Bill Moss, Published: May 9, 2026

When they voted no on a $100 million expansion of the Henderson County Courthouse in March, county commissioners Sheila Franklin and Jay Egolf expressed concern that the project — and its $10 million a year debt service — would lead to a property tax increase or cause other capital projects to be dumped.

So far, neither has happened.

On Monday night County Manager John Mitchell presented a $227.2 million budget that keeps the tax rate the same while covering the debt payments for the courthouse and jail expansion — total cost $170 million — plus borrowing costs of past capital projects and operating costs of county.

Other major projects, including new sewer lines serving Edneyville and the replacement of the failing county-owned Etowah sewer system, are in the works in the months or years to come. Commissioners expect to snip the ribbon at the new Berkeley Park sportsplex this fall, a mountain bike park is in the design phase at Jackson Park and phase 2 of the Ecusta Trail will soon be under way. And other new facilities — a county library branch in Fletcher and a county aquatic center — are in the early talking or conceptual stages.

In day-to-day operations, the recommended budget devotes $62.4 million to education (27 percent), $58 million to public safety (26 percent) and $42.3 million to human services (19 percent).

Property taxes account for just under half the total projected revenue, at $111.6 million, followed by the local-option sales tax. The recommended budget avoids a tax increase in part by appropriating $18 million of the county’s rainy day fund to balance, although in the past the county has committed a sizable fund balance at the start of the fiscal year only to end up not having to use it.

“We don’t budget this early for how much we think we’re going to receive in grant funding,” Mitchell told commissioners. “So you’re going to see this ($227 million revenue) number change as we’re successful in securing state and federal grants over time. I would expect you’ll see that whatever the board adopts will be revised, and this time next year, when you see (fiscal year) 2027 revised, you’ll see a higher number than $227 million.”

Historically, commissioners have set a new tax rate after the quadrennial revaluation of property values and maintained that rate until the next reappraisal. If it accepts the manager’s recommendation, this would be the fourth year the board will have adopted a 43.1-cent levy — and that’s with Hurricane Helene recovery costs.

“I’m proud to say it’s the lowest tax rate in a quarter century, going back to the year 2000,” Mitchell said.

The manager briefly summarized the status of budget priorities commissioners identified in a daylong budget workshop in January:

• Hurricane Helene: Although extracting money from the morass of FEMA has proved to be a struggle, “because of some advocacy by this board and other people we’ve been able to get down the road on that in a good way,” he said. Still, around 100 owners of demolished homes or businesses approved by FEMA for replacement costs await a check. “Every day I get up, we work trying to get the federal government to make the next step,” Mitchell said.
• Courthouse-jail project: “It took a long time and a lot of work in this room to get to where we are today out there (on Grove Street). Now, all we have to do is build it.”
• Fletcher library: Mitchell has been meeting with Fletcher Town Manager Mark Biberdorf and Commissioner Franklin, the former Fletcher Town Council member who has strongly advocated for a branch next to the town hall. “We’re headed in a good direction there,” Mitchell said. The project is likely to be a partnership between the town and county.
• Workforce housing: The county received a grant from the Dogwood Trust to underwrite the cost of extending water and sewer lines to Apple Ridge, the Housing Assistance Corp.’s affordable housing development on Sugarloaf Road.
• Berkeley Park sportsplex: The last of the needed amenities are in the works. The county is working with the Tourism Development Authority to pay for lighting for nighttime play on the soccer fields, tennis courts and softball diamond; restrooms will soon be under construction.
• Aquatic Center: Mitchell said he plans to meet with Hendersonville city officials and commissioners “to see where they are on all that and whether or not there’s a role for the county in the future.”
• School bus garage: Design is under way and construction is expected to start in October.

County commission Chair Bill Lapsley praised the no-new-tax budget.

“It’s a very pleasant surprise, with all the construction projects and all the things that have happened in our county, between hurricanes and other issues,” he said. “That’s a monumental achievement, and I know we appreciate it.”