Unless Asheville City Council decides to raise property taxes, city government will be operating with roughly $3.4 million less for its general fund next fiscal year. Lindsay Spangler, the city’s budget and performance manager, relayed the latest revenue projections for fiscal year 2026-27 during a budget work session before Council’s formal meeting Tuesday.
The biggest driver of that decrease was the loss of $5.6 million in one-time revenue, most of it from a federal disaster loan the city accepted this year. Sales taxes, which Spangler said will be essentially flat year-over year, won’t offset the hit. Neither will the slight natural growth of property taxes due to new construction.
“Looking at what you’re seeing across the whole state, it’s a similar, not great outlook,” Spangler said. “I do think that what we’re seeing here might be exacerbated a little bit by the fact that we’re still recovering economically from Helene, still maybe not seeing quite as many tourists.”…