High Point budget proposal weighs firefighter pay, homeowner tax relief

High Point’s proposed $535 million budget would touch two of the most immediate household pressures in Guilford County: what residents pay in taxes and what the city pays to keep firefighters on the job.

City leaders discussed the plan at Wednesday’s council meeting after the FY 2026-27 budget was formally presented to the Mayor and Council on May 4. The draft includes a possible separation allowance for the fire department, a payout for firefighters when they leave service that would be calculated as 0.85% of final base pay multiplied by years of service. Staff said similar programs already exist in Gastonia and Mooresville, and the formula mirrors North Carolina’s special separation allowance structure for certain public safety workers.

For High Point firefighters and their advocates, the proposal lands in the middle of an ongoing pay and staffing debate. The High Point Professional Firefighters Association has pressed for better compensation and staffing, and city staff have been tracking the higher costs of public safety since 2022, including fire apparatus, fleet vehicles and health insurance. Those pressures are shaping the budget as the city tries to hold the line on service levels while keeping enough personnel in the fire department to meet demand.

The budget discussion also put tax relief on the table for residents who have been hit hard by rising property values. City officials weighed a low-income homeowners assistance program that would require a High Point owner to have held the property for at least five years and to have a tax value under $250,000. The concept is similar to programs already used by Guilford County and Greensboro, where eligibility includes five continuous years of ownership, a primary residence in city limits and income limits of $48,500 for one-person households and $55,000 for households of two or more.

That kind of relief matters because many homeowners could still see larger bills even with a lower tax rate. WFDD reported that rising property values are pushing assessments up across the Triad after recent revaluations, which means a rate cut does not always translate into a smaller bill. High Point’s proposal is aimed at softening that hit for some residents, especially those on fixed or modest incomes who may own homes with lower assessed values but still face sharp increases.

The city’s Budget & Evaluation Department, which prepares the operating and capital budgets under North Carolina general statutes, also presented a $5.4 million general capital plan alongside fee and rate changes meant to close projected gaps. The council has set a work session for June 1 and plans to vote on June 15, leaving a narrow window for deciding whether High Point will pair firefighter retention with targeted property-tax relief in the final budget.