Mark Letson, the incumbent Jackson County Commission Chair who was the only commissioner to vote against leaving the Fontana Regional Library system, will not be returning to that role come November. Taxes were also an issue, but his library vote likely cost him as well. 

After last year’s property tax increase, Jackson County commissioners met Feb. 17 to begin planning next year’s budget, balancing fresh revenue growth against rising costs and lingering anxiety from property owners still absorbing the impact of escalating property values — just as a competitive Primary Election looms. 

As Jackson County heads toward the March 3 primary election, voters are being asked to assess a governing record shaped by rising costs, cultural conflict, a steady expansion of county government and mounting public concern. 

Over the last four budget cycles, Jackson County’s general fund has grown from $71.7 million in fiscal year 2021–22 to $106.9 million in the adopted 2025–26 budget — an increase of about 49%.

Jackson County commissioners have taken a huge financial step toward withdrawing from the Fontana Regional Library system by voting to use $350,000 from the county's fund balance to begin purchasing equipment and services needed to operate a standalone county library — after passing a tax increase last summer and after the county’s auditor reported tightening financial constraints during a Jan. 20 meeting.

Western North Carolina’s next election cycle is already shaping up amid a volatile mix of entrenched incumbents, disaster recovery fallout and deepening national divides, with competitive races stretching from the U.S. Senate on down to county-level offices. 

While marquee statewide contests appear to be headed toward familiar General Election matchups, cracks are emerging down the ballot, where public trust and institutional legitimacy are demanding attention from voters now more than any other time in recent memory. 

Jackson County commissioners have approved a sweeping new conservation framework designed to balance growth with preservation across some of the most ecologically significant lands in Western North Carolina, located in the southern part of the county. 

Unlike the other four members of the Jackson County Board of Commissioners, John W. Smith did not take the basic ethics training within 12 months of election as required by state law, The Smoky Mountain News has learned.

Finally face to face amid a simmering standoff over library governance and subjectively inappropriate material in a regional library system that’s served locals for more than 80 years, Jackson County commissioners spent nearly three hours in a joint meeting with the Fontana Regional Library Board of Trustees on June 19 learning just how much they don’t know about running a library.

Faced with a mounting backlog of infrastructure needs, Jackson County commissioners have failed to agree on a basic annual budget yet continue to insist they can accurately forecast the added costs to taxpayers of withdrawing from the Fontana Regional Library system.

Two weeks after the Jackson County Commission floated a possible withdrawal from the Fontana Regional Library system, residents showed up to speak at the May 20 commission meeting for more than three and a half hours of public comment, with the majority voicing their opposition to withdrawal.