High Point firefighters warn budget fight could threaten staffing levels
A state tax-delay bill could strip away High Point’s expected revaluation revenue, putting 24 firefighter jobs and three training posts back on the line.
High Point firefighters say a state tax proposal could do more than delay a budget calculation. It could knock the city off course just as it has begun rebuilding staffing, raising the risk of slower response times, more overtime and deeper burnout in a department already stretched by call volume.
Senate Bill 889 would force counties that completed property reappraisals effective Jan. 1, 2026, to keep using their old property values for the 2026-27 fiscal year and wait another year before collecting on the new numbers. The bill was filed April 28, passed the Senate May 6, reached the House May 7 and was re-referred June 3.
In Guilford County, the 2026 reappraisal became effective Jan. 1 and the new values will show up on July 2026 tax bills. County officials say the reassessment was built from sales data, market trends, county maps, aerial photography, street-level images and field visits, with appraisers dividing the county into about 2,500 neighborhoods. Some homeowners have already seen sharp increases, with reported jumps of 40% to 60%.
For High Point, the timing matters. City leaders have said the budget they are building depends in part on revaluation revenue, and a May 29 report said the city’s overall tax base was projected to rise 37.5% because of Guilford and Davidson County revaluations. City Manager Tasha Logan Ford’s proposed budget included an extra $18 million expected from that growth. If the bill becomes law and the city has to budget off older values, officials have said they would need to revisit spending plans with staff, the mayor and council.
Fire staffing sits near the center of that debate. The same report said the budget could put 24 new firefighter positions and three fire-safety training officer positions at risk. That comes after High Point approved a $3.3 million federal SAFER grant to support 24 additional firefighters, with the city responsible for a 25% match in the first two years and 65% in the third year. By February, 16 of the 24 grant-funded firefighters had been hired and eight more were being recruited, with the goal of putting four firefighters on each truck.
That progress came after a year of pressure on the department, including a temporary closure at Fire Station 13 tied to shortages. A consulting analysis cited by Prism News recommended two firefighters per 1,000 residents, which would put High Point near 240 firefighters for a population estimated at 120,571. The city’s cited current total is 216. For firefighters and city leaders, the fight over Senate Bill 889 is no longer just about tax timing. It is about whether High Point can keep enough people on the rigs to answer the next call.
This article was produced by Prism’s automated news system from verified source data, official records, and press releases, then run through automated quality and moderation checks before publishing. The system is built and supervised by the people who set the standards it runs under. Read our full AI policy.
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