Swain County raises taxes
Swain County will be raising its tax rate for the first time in 11 years in fiscal year 2024-25. Commissioners passed the ordinance in a 3-2 vote with commissioners David Loftis and Kenneth Parton against.
“A bigger government and more spending is not going to solve our problem,” said Loftis. “It’s never solved [them], it creates bigger ones.”
The tax rate will be raised to $0.41 cents per $100 of assessed property value, resulting in an additional $900,000 revenue. Previously, the rate was $0.36 cents, the second lowest in North Carolina behind Macon County. The increase will go toward needs in the county’s school system and employee salaries.
According to Lottie Barker, Interim County Manager, 30% of the increase, about $270,000, will go toward schools while the remaining $630,000 will go toward raises for employees. Raises for those employees will be determined by how many years they’ve worked in their respective departments.
The increase is important to Swain County as their budget is heavily handicapped by federally owned land that cannot be taxed. Between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Nantahala National Forest and the Qualla Boundary, less than 25% of Swain County’s land can be taxed by the county.
