In the second split budget vote in the last four years, Waynesville’s Town Council approved a property tax hike of 3.98 cents to address mounting capital needs and maintain competitive employee compensation packages meant to reduce costly turnover. 

Commissioners voted unanimously June 3 to accept Haywood County Manager Bryant Morehead’s proposed annual budget which, in spite of inflation, forthcoming debt for a jail expansion and the loss of a major employer last year, contains no tax increase.

A rare public impasse by Council Members over the Town of Waynesville’s proposed budget will leave things unsettled for the time being, foreshadowing prolonged negotiations over an all-but-certain tax increase. 

Waynesville’s town government has kept taxes as low as possible for as long as possible, but is quickly finding truth in the adage, “It’s easier to keep up than to catch up” — over the years, capital spending hasn’t kept up with the town’s needs, and now taxpayers may be looking at a costly game of catch-up. 

Capital needs are at the center of Macon County’s budget process for fiscal year 2024-25 and the county is in a good position to fund several big-ticket items. Even so, commissioners are considering another look at the quarter-cent sales tax option.