Haywood commissioners push back on property tax cap
The property tax issue is expected to become much more visible in the months to come.
File photo
Faced with the possibility that state lawmakers could strip away one of their few reliable revenue tools, Haywood County commissioners moved Monday night to draw a line in the sand.
In a formal resolution adopted April 20, the board voiced opposition to any effort by the North Carolina General Assembly to limit local property tax authority, warning such changes could destabilize county finances and undermine essential services in counties and municipalities.
Throughout 2026, the House Select Committee on Property Tax Reduction and Reform has been meeting to discuss state preemption of local taxation authority. On April 15, the committee voted to send a constitutional rate cap proposal to the General Assembly. If it passes, the measure would be put to voters in November.
The Haywood County resolution notes that property taxes are the backbone of county government, funding everything from state-mandated public safety and emergency response to education and infrastructure. It argues that local control over those revenues allows counties to adapt to shifting economic conditions, population growth and state-imposed mandates and also emphasizes the process behind those decisions, pointing to annual budget hearings, public meetings and voter-approved bonds as safeguards that already provide transparency and accountability.
Likely consequences of such a cap would involve reduced services, delayed infrastructure projects and increased fees, according to the resolution.
The board ultimately reaffirmed its support for the current system, which allows counties to set tax rates within existing statutory limits, and formally opposed any constitutional amendment that would curtail that authority. As the resolution was passed on the consent agenda along with six other administrative items, there was no discussion by commissioners.
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Haywood County was among the first Western North Carolina governments to pass such a resolution; on the same day and at roughly the same time in Cherokee County, commissioners passed a similar resolution by a vote of 3 to 2.
A recent opinion piece in The Durham Herald-Sun argues the state’s proposal would do more harm than good, contending that rising property taxes are largely the result of years of state-level budget decisions that have shifted costs onto local governments. The column paints the proposed cap as a political maneuver — by a General Assembly that can’t even pass its own budget — that could weaken essential services, disproportionately benefit wealthier property owners and leave counties with fewer options to meet growing demands.
