Alamance County commissioners seek budget changes to avoid tax hike

Alamance County commissioners are trying to steer the 2025-26 budget away from a property tax increase, a move that would spare homeowners now but could force deeper cuts in county services, staffing and capital plans later. County budget materials say a flat budget with no tax increase would require $4.4 million in service cuts.

That tradeoff showed up in Heidi York’s recommended budget presentation on May 19, when the county manager laid out what a no-tax-increase budget could mean. The presentation listed possible cuts including closing library branches in Graham, Mebane and North Park, and it said eliminating positions from nonmandated services could mean about 30 layoffs.

York’s presentation framed the board’s priorities as transparency, proactive budgeting, collaboration and data-driven decision-making, and it explicitly included “No Tax Increase” as a budget goal. The county’s budget calendar shows the process began earlier in the year, with departmental operating budget requests due Feb. 28 and the manager’s recommended budget presented May 19.

Commissioners are now tentatively trying to eliminate the property tax hike by using reserves and capital funds, a choice that could keep bills down for property owners in the short term. Alamance County’s adopted capital improvement plan runs from fiscal years 2024 through 2028, and the county’s financial policy guidelines include reserve policies and capital improvement budget policies, underscoring the pressure to decide whether to protect services now or preserve money for long-term projects.

The budget fight has also turned political. Dozens of residents spoke at a budget public hearing session, with some urging commissioners to avoid a tax hike for struggling households and others pressing for higher funding for the Alamance-Burlington School System. ABSS officials have also warned about possible impacts from county budget decisions, keeping school funding at the center of the debate.

That tension is not new in Alamance County. In a previous budget cycle, commissioners voted 3-2 for a $242 million budget that included a 2.5-cent tax hike and a larger ABSS allocation, a reminder of how closely the board’s tax decisions are tied to school funding and other county priorities.

The final tax decision is not locked in yet. Commissioners still have to settle the spending plan and adopt a budget that balances county services, employee costs and capital needs against pressure to keep the tax rate flat.