Alamance County sets June 1 hearing on proposed budget

Alamance County residents will get their first formal chance to weigh in on a budget that could affect property taxes, school funding, library service and rescue operations when commissioners hold a public hearing June 1 at the Alamance County Historic Courthouse in Graham.

County Manager Heidi York presented her recommended operating and capital budgets to the Board of Commissioners on May 18. The county’s budget calendar now sets a June 9 work session and June 15 adoption of the FY 2026-27 budget ordinances, with the county required under North Carolina law to adopt a budget by July 1.

York’s recommendation calls for roughly $274 million in spending, including about $229.7 million in general fund outlays. The proposal also includes a 1.59-cent property-tax increase and reflects an expected decline in sales tax receipts, two details that could shape how much money remains for schools, libraries, public safety and other county services.

The budget office says the manager must submit a recommended budget to the board and the public before June 1, make copies available for public inspection, hold a public hearing and bring the final spending plan into compliance by the July 1 deadline. In Alamance County, proposed budgets can be reviewed in the Clerk’s Office and Finance Department, and they are also available online.

The June hearing is likely to draw close attention because the last budget cycle did just that. In June 2025, more than three dozen residents spent three hours at the Historic Courthouse pressing commissioners to preserve or increase funding for the Alamance-Burlington School System and the county’s four public libraries. That hearing helped push the county into one of its most closely watched budget fights in years.

York’s earlier FY 2025-26 proposal had included a 1.59-cent tax increase and floated closure of the Graham, Mebane and North Park library branches under a flat-tax option, though she said those closures were contingency possibilities rather than her recommendation. Commissioners later adopted a revised budget with a 2.5-cent property-tax increase after extended debate.

This year’s hearing is likely to put the same pressure points under the microscope again, including school funding, library branches, rescue and emergency services, and the final county tax rate. What remains undecided is how commissioners will balance those priorities against slower sales tax growth and the county’s broader spending demands before they vote June 15.