Historically, Haywood County Schools has run a tight ship in the face of slim county appropriations. Last year, it pulled from its own fund balance to finance operations; in 2022, it cut 36 positions. 

But for the coming academic year, Superintendent Trevor Putnam made a dire case for additional funding. Any further cuts, he said, would deny HCS students a quality education.

Even ahead of calculating the budget, Swain County’s Fiscal Year 2026-2027 costs are likely to be higher, said County Manager Lottie Barker. 

“It’s across the board, different depending on what the department has asked for, as well as special appropriations.

Haywood County’s proposed fiscal year 2026-27 budget carries the kind of consequence that will land in every mailbox and on every mortgage statement across the county — a 7-cent property tax increase, pushing the rate from $0.55 to $0.62 per $100 of assessed valuation.

For fiscal year 2026-2027, Haywood County Schools is requesting an additional $3 million in annual county funding. 

The ask is driven by several overlapping needs — offsetting state and federal cuts, avoiding fund balance appropriations, covering a $400,000 increase in annual operating costs, financing salary raises and supporting continued program needs — all while facing a budget shortfall between $700,000 and $740,000. 

Failures in the federal response to Hurricane Helene are still rippling into Haywood County’s bottom line, forcing the county — like most of its municipalities — to build a budget around uncertainty and delay rather than recovery. 

County Manager Bryant Morehead’s March 16 presentation made clear that millions in storm-related costs remain unreimbursed, leaving the county to carry the financial burden 18 months after the disaster. 

More than 17 months after Hurricane Helene carved a path of destruction through Western North Carolina, the floodwaters have long since receded — but Waynesville officials say the federal reimbursement process remains mired in uncertainty, denials, reversals and what several described as mounting roadblocks. 

Crumbling promises and frozen FEMA reimbursements cast a long shadow over Waynesville’s budget retreat, where town officials confronted a stark reality — a $5.4 million deficit for the coming fiscal year, nearly $4 million of it tied up in lagging FEMA reimbursements from Hurricane Helene. 

With insurance costs climbing, mandated retirement contributions rising and capital requests topping $20 million, Waynesville Town Council will now face what one member called “the worst ever” budget picture in recent memory. 

At a Feb. 27 budget retreat, Waynesville aldermen confronted a familiar tension — how to keep municipal salaries competitive in a tightening labor market while staring down mounting infrastructure demands and lingering financial uncertainty tied to Hurricane Helene. 

Two presentations from Human Resources Director Page McCurry outlined the first steps in an overhaul of pay classifications, beginning with public works positions and moving next to police and fire. 

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 Maggie Valley rebuilds from Hurricane Helene and absorbs slow but steady residential growth, aldermen have begun shaping a 2026-27 fiscal year budget defined by guarded optimism, rising service costs and lingering storm obligations. 

New Maggie Valley Town Manager Sam Cullen opened the workshop with a reminder that the board recently adopted a policy preventing the fund balance from dropping below 100% of annual expenditures — a common but informal goal for many of North Carolina’s smaller municipalities.