McDowell County manager proposes 4.09% budget increase; property tax rate to remain unchanged

McDowell County Manager (identified in the meeting as Mr. Wooten/Mr. Woodman) on a May 2025 meeting presented a recommended FY2026 budget that increases county spending by 4.09% while recommending no change to the county property tax rate.

The presentation laid out priorities for the coming year — public safety, human services and education — and recommended a 2% cost-of-living adjustment for county employees. The manager said the budget includes two full-time position additions and a total of six positions if two half-time requests are combined.

The recommended spending plan will be available for public inspection in the clerk’s office and a public hearing has been advertised for 11:30 a.m. on June 16; the manager noted the county may adopt the budget any time after the hearing but no later than June 30. “Every local government in North Carolina is required to prepare a budget for a balanced budget for your review and the public’s review before, technically, through June 1. It's the last day you can present it,” the county manager said during the presentation.

Why it matters: the manager framed the document as the board’s starting point for a budget that must balance service demands, state and federal mandates and available local revenue. He warned that some programs, notably social services and public health, are increasingly dependent on state and federal funding levels and that pending federal changes could increase local costs.

Major highlights and program details
- Revenues and tax rate: The recommendation projects growth in the tax base that produces higher property tax revenue without raising the tax rate. Sales tax and interest income projections were described as conservative and reflective of recent experience.
- Employee pay and benefits: The budget recommends a 2% COLA and notes continuing upward pressure on health insurance and retirement employer contribution rates driven by the Local Government Employees' Retirement System.
- Staffing: The manager described two full-time position additions in the recommendation and said there are six total positions when half‑time requests are combined.
- Schools and education: The manager said the board of education submitted a revised request after state cuts to low-wealth supplemental funding; the county’s recommended contribution for current expense plus low-wealth supplemental funding totals about $600,000 (roughly a 6% increase), slightly below the revised school request.
- Social services and public health: The manager warned the county is reaching state-set revenue caps for some Department of Health and Human Services funding and said child-welfare costs are increasingly borne with local dollars. He also said the county and Rutherford County have agreed on a roughly 5% increase in funding for the two-county health district.
- Infrastructure and capital projects: The manager reviewed ongoing and completed projects: Hoppy Tom Hollow water project is finished; East End water project bids have been awarded; engineering is under way for a line to West Marion Elementary; a site-build at Universal Technology Park is due to start; recreation center improvements (including a new pool and expanded parking) will have a ribbon cutting next week; playground work in Maple Leaf is nearly complete with landscaping and a planned restroom to follow.
- Broadband and grants: The county used about $100,000 of ARPA funds as a local match for a broadband project; the county also received two CARES/CBand-type grants for Sky Runner and a $400,000 asset inventory and assessment grant to support water-system mapping, resiliency planning and rate evaluation.
- Solid waste and transfer station: The county has awarded repairs for the transfer-station floor under a state permit requirement. A second set of scales has been ordered to improve traffic flow; the manager said some work had begun on-site.
- Public safety and jail/courthouse debt: Public safety remains a top expenditure. The presentation noted vehicle-related debt and several larger capital debts that will roll off over the next decade; the manager said the courthouse elevator/renovation debt expires in about five years, another addition-related debt ends around 2033, and EMS base debt extends to about 2040.

Federal and state policy risks
The manager flagged possible federal policy changes that could affect county costs. He described proposed changes to Medicaid expansion policy — increased verification and semiannual recertification for some recipients — and a work‑requirement verification burden that could raise workload. He also pointed to proposals to shift up to 25% of nonfederal SNAP administrative costs to states and counties, which the manager said could add “several hundred thousand dollars” in local administrative expense if implemented and passed through to counties.

Board response and next steps
A commissioner (unnamed in the record) noted for the record that the property tax rate recommendation does not increase. That commissioner also commended the manager for balancing support for schools and community college funding while prioritizing employee retention: “Our employees are a priority,” the commissioner said.

The budget will remain available for inspection at the clerk’s office; the public hearing is scheduled for June 16 at 11:30 a.m., and the board may adopt the FY2026 budget any time after the hearing but must do so by June 30.

The meeting ended with a motion to adjourn that passed unanimously.