ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — State leaders and Western North Carolina officials are navigating uncertainty after Gov. Josh Stein signed a measure last week pausing new property tax reappraisals in Buncombe County and other affected counties, even as local governments finalize budgets based on updated property values.
On Friday, June 19, Stein signed Senate Bill 889 into law. The measure requires certain counties that completed reappraisals effective Jan. 1, 2026, to continue using their previous schedules of value for the 2026-27 fiscal year, effectively halting the impact of new assessments. The law also carries forward limits into future budget cycles until the next full countywide reappraisal.
The action came as members of the Governor’s Advisory Committee on Western North Carolina Recovery met Monday and received updates on housing, infrastructure, communications and tourism recovery efforts following Tropical Storm Helene, while also hearing that significant funding gaps remain across the region.
During the meeting, Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer raised concerns about the timing and implementation of the new law, saying its effective date language appears ambiguous and may not align cleanly with existing state budget statutes.
Manheimer noted that Buncombe County is among the jurisdictions affected and said local governments have already adopted budgets using the newly assessed property values. She warned that the mismatch could create complications for municipalities required by state law to adopt balanced budgets by the end of June.
“We’re kind of in a pickle,” she said, pointing to the tight budget deadline cycle and the potential need for legislative clarification or exemptions for Helene-impacted counties.
She also referenced pending legislation that could carve out exemptions for Western North Carolina counties affected by the storm, urging lawmakers to ensure the policy does not create further instability during ongoing recovery efforts.
The newly adopted Asheville fiscal year 2026-27 budget sets the city’s property tax rate at 37.69 cents per $100 of assessed value, about 4.8 cents above the revenue-neutral rate.
Senate Bill 889, formally titled the Property Tax Reappraisal Moratorium, applies to counties that meet population thresholds and completed reappraisals effective in 2026, requiring them to revert to prior valuation schedules for budgeting purposes while establishing a framework for appeals and future reassessment cycles.
Local officials say they are now working through how the state mandate will interact with already adopted budgets and ongoing recovery planning across Western North Carolina.