The property tax rate change that Asheville City Council adopted Wednesday evening won’t increase the amount of money coming in to local government. But according to Mayor Esther Manheimer, it does add “a lot to the confusion in the process and creates distrust.”
As City Attorney Brad Branham explained in a presentation to Council, the move was nevertheless necessary due to recent action by the state General Assembly. Legislators adopted two bills that together prevent Buncombe County from using its newly appraised property values unless it adopted a revenue-neutral tax rate — which would have reduced Buncombe’s projected tax revenue by over $24 million.
Instead, Buncombe’s Board of Commissioners unanimously voted on Tuesday to use the county’s older, lower property values while raising its tax rate. That approach ensured county government would have enough money to pay for the $698 million budget it adopted in June.
Because city government must use Buncombe’s property values, Branham said, Asheville’s own budget for fiscal 2026-27 wouldn’t be balanced unless Council also increased the property tax rate it had adopted in June. Tony McDowell, the city’s finance director, projected the shortfall caused by using the old property values with the June tax rate at about $28 million.
The new tax rate of 50.78 cents per $100 in assessed value, McDowell continued, would have “a net-zero impact” on overall city revenue when applied across all properties. He estimated that a median Asheville home, assessed at $478,500 after the 2026 revaluation and $350,000 under the old values, would see its annual city tax bill decrease by about $26.
However, McDowell emphasized that individual property owners would see different consequences based on how their assessed valuations had changed. As presented by Buncombe officials on Tuesday, tax bills will go up for properties whose 2026 values were at least 42% higher than their old values.
Manheimer acknowledged that the interplay between tax rates and property revaluations often causes public confusion, which she expected would only be worsened by the new changes. “We’re going to do our best to continue to try to communicate with clarity and transparency to the community, and handle all these maneuvers that the legislature threw at us at the last minute,” she said.
Council member Bo Hess shared his frustration at the legislature. Asheville, he said, “has never asked Raleigh to solve our problems. But we certainly have not asked Raleigh to create new problems and challenges for us.”
Both Vice Mayor Antanette Mosley and Council member Sage Turner voted against the tax rate change. The two had also voted against the city budget in June. They both clarified that their votes represented general opposition to Asheville’s spending plans, not the tax change itself. Member Kim Roney was participating remotely and could not vote, but said she would’ve voted no as well, in keeping with her June position.
In previous years, Buncombe County has sent property owners their tax bills by mail in August. Due to the recent changes, county staff have said this year’s process will be delayed, with bills “available online as soon as possible.”
Other tidbits
- Council’s vote also reset the tax rate for downtown’s Business Improvement District to its prior year rate of 8.77 cents per $100. Because the city will use last year’s property values, the move is expected have to minimal impact on BID revenue. The roughly $1.4 million in property taxes collected through the BID support the “downtown ambassador” program and other services specifically for the city core.
- Following the tax rate vote, Council voted to enter closed session. Hess made the motion, citing state law that allows the body to meet privately “to prevent the disclosure of information that is privileged or confidential” and to consider personnel matters. The city has also announced three further closed sessions on Monday, July 20; Thursday, July 23; and Tuesday, July 28. The last time Asheville held that many closed sessions in quick succession was to consider candidates to succeed former City Manager Debra Campbell in advance of her retirement.
Asheville City Council regularly meets every second and fourth Tuesday at the Council Chamber on the second floor of City Hall, 70 Court Plaza, beginning at 5 p.m. Its next regular meeting will take place Tuesday, July 28. See the full recording and the presentation from the July 15 meeting.
