Black Mountain budget proposes 11% decrease for 2025-26 fiscal year

Town council considers recommended $19.5 million spending plan

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
May 19, 2025

The Black Mountain Town Council will hold a public hearing, June 9, before a vote on the 2025-26 recommended budget. Photo by Fred McCormick

A proposed $19.5 million spending plan for the Town of Black Mountain, reviewed, May 19, by the town council, will mark an 11.2% decrease in the 2025-26 fiscal year.

The reduction in the budget, which will be the subject of a public hearing at 6 p.m., Monday, June 9, reverses a four-year trend in which town spending and revenue increased by 54% The decrease, according to town manager Josh Harrold, can be largely attributed to the impact of Tropical Storm Helene, last September.

“The Town experienced catastrophic damage in the 100-year and 500-year floodplain,” he wrote in his budget message to the town council. “Current FEMA Public Assistance estimates show $25 million to $30 million in damage to town property and assets.”

Approving the operating budget is “the most important thing town council does, annually,” Harrold said. “This is the vision of the council and reflects the needs of the community.”

While the proposed spending plan recommends maintaining the current property tax rate of .3210 cents per $100 of valuation, Buncombe County residents can expect to face an increase, the town manager told the board.

“It is important to note that we’re not proposing a property tax increase, but the county is, so your property tax bills will increase, based on that,” Harrold said.

The Black Mountain budget suggests a 15% increase in water fees, while waste reduction costs for town residents will increase from $5 to $8 per month, upon the document’s approval.

The proposed water rates, which are up 13% over 2023 in the current budget, reflect a second consecutive price increase for wholesale customers of the City of Asheville. Black Mountain residents consuming an average of 1,878 gallons will pay an additional 91 cents per month, while out-of-town customers will see a $3.09 rise.

The waste reduction fee increase, which follows a $3 monthly rise in the current adopted budget, is expected to generate an additional $153,576 in annual revenue, funding staff and the “increasing costs of sanitation services,” Harrold wrote in his budget message.

Town of Black Mountain employees will receive a 3% cost of living adjustment (COLA), down from 4% in the two previous budgets and 6% in 2022. The municipality will add four new full-time positions and expand a current role to full-time, bringing its total number of full-time employees to 110.

Approximately 41% of the town’s general fund is dedicated to public safety, with the recommended budget of $3.9 million for the Black Mountain Police Department and $3.3 million for the fire department. While a new position filling a previously vacant spot on the BMFD’s third shift will be added in the new fiscal year, the department’s budget is down approximately $272,000 in the manager’s proposal, due mostly to a reduction in capital outlay.

The police department budget will rise 8.2%, to $3.9 million, adding two new vehicles to its existing fleet.

One of the largest decreases in expenditures is capital outlay. The town typically spends around $2 million annually on large projects, but allocated $438,200 in the upcoming year.

The recommended budget includes an appropriation of $415,950, leaving the town with an unassigned fund balance of $2,022,146. Equivalent to 19.45% of the proposed General Fund budget, the unappropriated balance is below the town’s policy of 30%, but more than twice the Local Government Commission’s recommendation of at least 8%.

“Our unassigned fund balance is struggling a little bit,” Harrold said. “We do have an internal policy that we will keep it above 30%, so we’ll need to adjust that in the June meeting, or shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, we’ll have to keep it in that range for a while, waiting on FEMA reimbursements.”

The town utilized a portion of the unassigned funds to support its emergency operations in the aftermath of Helene and expects to collect reimbursement from FEMA and continue working on recovery projects for the next several years.

Harrold classified the budget process this year as “challenging,."

“It’s been an interesting budget, we can all agree with that,” he said. “It’s been nothing short of a miracle that we’ve got this thing together.”

If elected leaders approve the recommended budget, it will mark a 22% decrease from the current amended budget, according to Harrold.

“That’s important to look at,” he said. “It’s pretty staggering. I will say City of Asheville, Buncombe County and the Town of Weaverville are all increasing. They are all proposing a property tax increase, as well.”

The town council will call for a vote to approve the 2025-26 fiscal year budget, following the scheduled public hearing. Upon approval, the document will go into effect, July 1.