This news item expired on Thursday, June 17, 2021 so the information below could be outdated or incorrect.
During its meeting on June 16, the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners approved its budget for fiscal year 2021, which starts July 1. The $336.5 million spending plan keeps the tax rate of the past two years at 52.9 cents. Despite projections of decreased revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Commissioners and staff worked diligently to find ways to cut spending in order to ensure there would not be a tax increase.
“This has been a challenging time for County operations in so many ways. We worked hard to make this budget process as meaningful and substantive as possible in a context different than what we’ve ever gone through before,” said Commission Chair Brownie Newman. “A lot of hard work has gone into this. Budgets are about representing goals and values, and a lot of great things are included in this budget.” Newman also credits a focused and intentional public outreach strategy for helping the budget reflect the community’s needs.
The FY 2021 budget shows the Board of Commissioners’ commitment to funding education with more than 26% ($89.5 million) of the general fund going to schools. That spending breaks down as follows:
- A-B Tech: $7,075,600
- Asheville City Schools: $ 12,728,957
- Buncombe County Schools $69,712,472
- Total: $ 89,517,029
Other key budget expenditures can be seen in the chart below.
For additional information on the approved FY 20201 budget, see the below resources: