At its April 23 work session, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners took a second look at the county’s 2024-25 budget. During the meeting, staff presentations showed a $28.5 million gap between next year’s revenues and expected expenditures.
County spending is projected to grow by more than $8 million next year, to $444.9 million, said county Budget Director John Hudson. A large part of that increase comes from a plan to add 22 positions, including nine additional caseworkers and assistants in the Department of Social Services.
Salaries and benefits for more than 1,700 employees account for the largest piece of the county’s expenses, at 45%.
The county also expects to see a 9% increase in debt service over last year, and an 8% increase in its public safety budget, mainly due to higher pay approved last year, Hudson said.
The county plans to save money by leasing rather than buying new vehicles for its fleet next fiscal year, he added.
At this stage, budget staff assumes that education spending will remain flat. However, that may change after a work session Thursday, May 9, that will focus on the county’s two school districts and its volunteer fire districts. Education is the county’s largest spending category, accounting for about 28% of the general fund last year.
The revenue-side projections were bumped up by $4.2 million since the “first pass” budget March 26 to $416.5 million. Those increases are expected to mostly come from property tax revenue, which makes up 64% of the county’s general fund revenue, Hudson said.
Property tax revenues are now projected to increase by 5% over last fiscal year.
If projections hold, the county would have to cover the difference between expenses and revenues with reserves, decreasing the available fund balance to 10.8% of expenditures, Hudson said. The county’s policy is to maintain a fund balance of 15% of annual expenditures. It’s currently about 18%.
To satisfy the fund balance policy, county staff recommends cutting expenses, raising revenue or a combination thereof by $12.3 million, Hudson said.
After the Thursday, May 9, work session, County Manager Avril Pinder will present the staff’s recommended budget to commissioners at the regular meeting Tuesday, May 21. There will be a public hearing Tuesday, June 4, and the budget is scheduled for a final vote on Tuesday, June 18.
