Press release from Buncombe County:
The Buncombe County Board of Commissioners continued to survey how a post-Hurricane Helene landscape and other factors will affect the fiscal year 2026 (FY26) budget during a work session on March 20. County officials are looking to officially launch a long-term recovery plan in September with projects focused on continued work and various areas in need of revitalization. Examples of potential projects include: · Creation of a Small-Area Plan for unincorporated Swannanoa to guide land use, zoning, infrastructure, transportation, design, and community development.
· Construction of a housing development on County-owned property to create rental housing units affordable to households at or below 80% of Area Median Income.
· Redevelopment of a County park that was extensively damaged by the storm.
· Activating property acquired through the hazard mitigation buyout program for greenways or other passive recreation.
Since Hurricane Helene, the County has also implemented a hiring freeze that currently has 183 positions vacant with 64 of those in the Sheriff’s Office and the rest spread across other County departments. That hiring freeze will start to relax with a phased approach for some public safety-related positions, social worker vacancies, and other frontline jobs as determined by County management.
As costs mount for hurricane-related recovery efforts, the County is looking at potential strategies for FY26. The strategies the County is applying to Helene expenditures include:
· Establish a Helene budget in multi-year fund.
· Charge direct Helene-related costs to this fund.
· Utilize no-cost options as much as possible (e.g., mutual aid, mission assignments, County employee reassignments).
· Incur costs associated with known reimbursement sources (e.g., FEMA Public Assistance)
· Minimize Helene-related costs with no known funding source, yet still charge to the Helene budget while seeking revenue (e.g., community navigation, watershed damage assessments)
· Continue to publish Helene-based spending tracking on a public dashboard.
Regarding funding the multiple needs for the ongoing recovery, County staff is looking at all potential revenue sources at the local, state, and federal levels. Some grants have already been approved, others are in the application process, and staff continue to research other potential grants, relief programs, and other ways to fund recovery efforts. In terms of generating and tracking revenue regarding Helene, the approach includes:
· Centralize coordination of all Helene revenue activity through a grants and funding workgroup (subset of Foundational recovery support function)
· Track activities in accordance with anticipated future revenue compliance requirements.
· Build in project management and administration as much as possible.
· Collect project ideas for vetting, prioritization, and matching them to potential funding sources (as of March 12, there are 28 potential sources).
· Match aforementioned project ideas with potential funding streams (as March 12, there 53 potential sources).
County staff is also looking at case studies and best practices from other counties and municipalities that have recovered from significant natural disasters.
Federal funding overview
Money from the federal government makes up a significant part of Buncombe County’s budget, especially for positions in our Health and Human Services (HHS) Department. Currently, Buncombe County gets $188 million in federal funding for 13 departments, which helps fund more than 480 jobs. In all, federal funding:· Accounts for 10% of the County’s total governmental budget (all government funds).
· Contributes 83% of intergovernmental revenue.
· Funds some portion of about 24% of non-contracted, budgeted County jobs (nearly 500 positions).
· Represents about 76% of the County’s grant funds.
As County staff monitors news from the federal government, there is a potential that some of that funding could be cut. While the loss of funding is not imminent at this time, staff is providing Commissioners with an analysis of how potential scenarios could affect operations and staffing. It is important to note that Buncombe County does not know if that will happen and if it does occur, it does not necessarily mean it would directly translate to a reduction in the County’s workforce. Buncombe County will continue to fulfill its obligations for mandated services and remain committed to its mission of providing essential programs and other resources that provide critical health care, facilitate access to food for children and families, and operating other vital services for our community.
Additionally, Buncombe County uses some federal funding for public services ranging from free transportation for the elderly to quality-of-life improvements to our cherished portfolio of parks. Potential cuts in federal money could directly translate to a reduction or halt in some services and capital improvement projects.
County staff will continue to monitor all potential federal funding cuts and actively work on multiple contingency plans based on possible scenarios. As it stands, the County is in a stable place and is exercising its due diligence in monitoring, exploring, and planning what various levels of potential federal funding cuts could mean for the County’s budget.
Revenue overview
Buncombe County’s revenue comes from multiple sources with largest being money collected from property taxes. Based on the most recent data available, County staff projects that total revenues for FY26 will total $413.1 million. Below, you can see a chart showing a breakdown of where those revenues come from:
The County’s revenue FY26 budget for all major sources has decreased in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. As noted in the chart below, overall revenues are projected to be $83.5 million less than originally anticipated due to various issues stemming from Hurricane Helene, most notably due to the delay of the County property reevaluation.
As Commissioners continue to prepare for potential revenue scenarios, there are additional sources of income drivers to also be considered. Other revenue drivers include:
· A slight decrease in intergovernmental revenue (down 2%)
· Sales and services are relatively flat
· Expecting decreased excise tax revenue compared to prior years
· Building permit revenue is down (fewer expected home starts)
· The market is not as strong as prior years for investments
· Less bond proceeds revenue (related to vehicle purchases)
County staff continues to get updated data as it becomes available and will work with Commissioners as any forecasts change ahead of adopting the FY26 budget.
Other potential funding options
County staff is conducting due diligence by also looking at other potential sources of revenue and providing that information to Commissioners. Staff discussed three sources:· State cash flow loan program (based on damage assessment submitted on Feb. 14):
o First disbursement to Buncombe County was for $8.45 million.
o This money must be used on expenditures made for disaster-related activities.
o The County is waiting on state guidance for potential distribution to schools.
· Community disaster loans
o Federal funded loans through FEMA.
o There is a maximum of $5 million and there must be a 5% or more loss of revenue.
o Forgivable if local government operates on deficit for multiple years.
o Buncombe County is likely not eligible for this resource.
· Property tax rate
o The County’s current property tax rate is 51.76 cents per $100 of assessed value (FY25 Budget).
o The property tax rate translates to an estimated $5 million in revenue per penny.
Commissioners will continue to look at all potential options during upcoming meetings and work sessions.
Next steps
The following are the upcoming dates for important procedures in adopting the FY26 budget.· April 22 – Budget work session
· April 29 – Fire districts and school districts budget work session
· May 6 – Budget message during formal County Commissioners’ meeting
· May 20 – Public hearing on proposed budget
· June 3 – Approval of FY26 budget
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