The county budget provides services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week—services that have a big impact on our community and residents. As we plan for the upcoming budget, we recognize that property tax affordability is a growing concern for many residents, and county leaders will be faced with difficult decisions both this year and in years to come on services, service levels and how to fund them.

In addition to local priorities, state-level decisions also affect the county budget. In FY 27 alone, state legislature decisions on catching up teacher salaries and covering SNAP benefits costs may require an additional $2.2 million in the County budget. Those expenses come from property tax, without the ability to locally change the amounts required.

Understanding our residents’ priorities better equips county leadership to make budget recommendations and helps commissioners weigh tough decisions around the funding for services and local property taxes. Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback.

*1.About 92% of the county’s annual budget is made up of mandated services—services the state requires the county to fund, primarily through property taxes. Some funding levels, like school personnel and social services, are decided annually at the state level without local input.

Of the following mandated services, choose two that you feel should be prioritized for funding or higher service levels:(Required.)

General Government: Elections, land deed registry, tax records and mapping, birth certificates, death certificates and marriage certificates

Land Management and Development: building inspections, planning, transit, soil and water conservation, Cooperative Extension

Public Health: WIC (Nutrition for Women, Infants and Children), dental programs, substance abuse prevention (CARE Coalition, jail-based treatment), pregnancy and child nurse case management, immunizations, well and septic permitting, restaurant inspections

Public Safety: Sheriff’s Office, jail, courthouse, EMS, Emergency Management, dispatch, Fire Marshall’s office, animal control and animal shelter)

Schools- K-12: School building improvements, operations and maintenance; teacher supplements (pay above state salary schedule); and additional teacher positions not funded by the state

Solid Waste: Landfill, convenience sites, and recycling

*2.Transylvania County provides some services that are not required by the state. These services rely on property tax and some fees to operate annually. They also make up about 40% of the ongoing maintenance needs identified in the next 10 years for county buildings and sites.

Which of these non-mandated services do you feel are important to continue funding?(Required.)

Blue Ridge Community College: Transylvania campus (operations and capital)

Community Free Wi-Fi Access: Public buildings, parks, and community centers

Early Education: New Adventure Learning Center (ages 1-5)

Library: Amphitheater, event spaces, computer access, library programs, Bookmobile, books and digital media checkouts

Parks and Recreation: Silvermont Mansion Senior Center, Silvermont Park, Rosman Park, Parks and Recreation Center, Senior Games, Connestee Falls Park, adult and children’s recreation programs

*3.For these non-mandated services, which would you support investing more county tax dollars in?(Required.)

Blue Ridge Community College: Transylvania campus (operations and capital)

Community Free Wi-Fi Access: Public buildings, parks, and community centers

Early Education: New Adventure Learning Center (ages 1-5)

Library: Amphitheater, event spaces, computer access, library programs, Bookmobile, books and digital media checkouts

Parks and Recreation: Silvermont Mansion Senior Center, Silvermont Park, Rosman Park, Parks and Recreation Center, Senior Games, Connestee Falls Park, adult and children’s recreation programs

*4.County revenue options are controlled by state laws. The main revenue for counties comes from property tax (tax on land, buildings, business equipment and vehicles). Counties receive some sales tax from the state but most of that is earmarked for specific spending under state law.

In some cases, counties can charge fees to users to offset the cost of a service. Those fees can be set by county commissioners, as long as they don’t exceed the actual cost of a service (like a building permit or a Parks & Rec sports program).

When funding services, which option do you prefer the county to use when possible?(Required.)

Fund from property tax.

Fund from fees for service.

*5.To reduce costs, Transylvania County utilizes strategies like competitive bidding/ purchasing, auditing billing, pursuing grants, and evaluating the need for positions when they are vacant before posting for a new hire. Which of these additional strategies do you feel should be prioritized to save money in the county budget?(Required.)

Reduce non-mandated services.

Reduce service availability (reduction in hours and/or days available for different services).

Reduce county facilities/sites to reduce operational cost.

Increase fees for users.

Increase property tax.