The Macon County Board of Commissioners approved a $56,681,218 budget for the 2021-22 fiscal year during their regularly scheduled meeting on June 8, albeit by the slimmest of margins.
Expecting higher revenues in a fiscal year without the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic to worry about, County Manager Derek Roland laid out a $54,641,096 budget worth 4.5% more than the current one that emphasized improvements to public safety, human services and education. This budget was well liked by the commissioners when they met for a work session the previous Thursday, but the big point of contention was whether to increase property taxes to 40 cents per $100 in order to add several projects to the budget, chief among them increased wages for county employees. Commissioner Josh Young, though not opposed to the expenditures, felt it was irresponsible to raise taxes at such a delicate economic time, especially for projects that could potentially be funded with COVID-19 relief money if regulations break the right way.
“We’re not a brokerage firm for the county’s tax dollars,” Young said.
Commissioner Paul Higdon took issue with the tax increase for the same reasons. He also argued it was unfair to Roland to ask him to devise a budget without any tax increases only to add one themselves once he presented it.
“We charged him when starting this budget process with bringing us a flat budget,” Higdon said. “But when we come down to the budget session last week, like every other year, we go into a spending… not maybe a frenzy, but we go into some debt projects.”
Commissioner Ronnie Beale, on the other hand, felt that the expenditures the board had in mind when first discussing the tax increase, including a county employee cost of living adjustment, funding to bring employee salaries to a level recommended by a pay study, and more funding for the library, the Nikwasi Initiative and Cowee School, were all worth the money. He also took exception to the idea that such a small change to the millage rate would be enough to create an undue burden on local taxpayers.
“The taxes in Macon County, even with this increase, will still be one of the lowest in the state,” Beale said. “These are not pet projects. These are all important.”
Chairman Jim Tate and Commissioner Gary Shields also supported the budget and the tax increase on the grounds that it would be an essential way to take care of county employees. While there was a lot of contentious debate that led them to the final vote, Tate emphasized the necessity of that debate to a healthy county government.
“Arguing opinions, in my opinion, are fantastic on this board,” Tate said. “I respect them all and I enjoy serving with every individual up here.”
The budget passed by a vote of 3-2 with Higdon and Young voting against, the same breakdown as the vote to add the tax increase at the budget work session. No residents came to the Tuesday meeting to voice their opinions on the budget during the public session.
Also on the commissioners’ docket was the review of a letter from the library board, the designation of Cowee School as a local arts agency and the approval of fireworks permits in Franklin, Highlands and Nantahala ahead of the Fourth of July.
The next meeting of the Macon County Board of Commissioners will be held on Tuesday, July 13 at 6 p.m. in the boardroom at the Macon County Courthouse. For more information on the 2021-22 fiscal year budget, call the county manager’s office at 828-349-2025 or go online to www.maconnc.org/budget.