At its June 9, 2026 meeting, Asheville City Council adopted the $275.8 million Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) budget, applicable July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027. This budget reflects the City’s continued commitment to Helene recovery, service delivery, and meeting community needs while placing an emphasis on long-term financial stability.
“City Council and leadership appreciate the time and effort our community and staff took to identify opportunities to strategically invest in Asheville’s future,” said Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer. “By delivering a balanced and sustainable budget, we are fostering a strong economy and positioning our city to confidently move forward, ensuring we meet community needs with a robust and resilient financial future.”
Delivering a balanced and sustainable budget
At the beginning of this process, staff projected a potential gap between revenue and proposed expenditures. Leadership and staff worked closely to bridge that gap through a combination of refining estimates and finding additional budget savings without impacting essential City services. The adopted budget includes a property tax rate of 37.69 cents, which is set at 4.80 cents above revenue neutral, in order to balance the budget in the face of rising costs. This reflects the proposed budget as listed in the staff report ,with changes made by Council: Reinstatement of the 1% 401K employer contribution.
Continued Investment in Community
A balanced budget allows City staff to continue providing critical services despite increasing costs. The Fiscal Year 2027 Budget funds vital community services like public safety, parks, public works, transportation, transit, water resources, stormwater, and more.
Investment in our community will continue through use of our general fund in key quality of life areas such as:
- Public Health and Safety
- AFD REST team
- AFD 4th shift & hourly pay increase
- APD continued hires for vacant positions
- Continued trash & recycling at current service levels despite operational cost increases
- Culture and Recreation
- Parks & Rec year round programming including summer camps
- Support for downtown events
- Continued sport facility support at parks, Aston Tennis, and Muni Golf
- Community & City of Asheville staff
- Support bus service with stricter performance standards and on-site crisis counselor
- Staff member dedicated to affordable housing projects
- 2.8% cost of living increase for staff and a continuation of the 401K 1% match
- Employee health care benefits remain the same, despite increased costs
- Strategic Investments
- Neighborhood Matching Grant Program for community projects
- Support of key organizations providing community services
- Contribution to Buncombe County Homeowner grant program
- Capital work for housing, parks, transportation, & public safety infrastructure through GO bonds
This year’s budget document features the art of City of Asheville Parks and Recreation afterschool programming students. Program participants were asked to draw what comes to mind when asked: “What Does My City Do for Me?”