When the polls open June 7, Jackson County voters will have a choice to make — whether to OK a small sales tax increase to provide additional funding for Jackson County Public Schools and Southwestern Community College.

Sylva residents will likely see their tax rate skyrocket 42 percent this year, but town commissioners say that even the steep increase won’t let them do much beyond simply balance the budget.

With a drop in county value and increase in emergency response costs, Jackson County is looking at a draft budget built on a property tax rate of 37 cents per $100 of value — a 32 percent increase over the current 28-cent tax rate.

Waynesville leaders will face a big decision this budget year: whether to increase property taxes by 10 percent to pay for additional firefighters.

Sylva’s leaders have known for a year that taxes would have to go up in 2016, but it’s unlikely any of them expected to be discussing a budget featuring a 41.7 percent tax rate increase.

As Sylva’s leaders work toward a new budget for the new fiscal year, there’s one big question on everybody’s mind — how much will taxes increase?

Sales tax in Jackson County could rise to 7 percent if voters approve a referendum vote that would add a quarter cent to the existing sales tax to help get the county’s K-12 and community college facilities back in shape.

Jackson County Commissioners will vote this week on whether to approve a referendum vote for a quarter-cent sales tax increase to appear on the June 7 ballot for the U.S. House of Representatives primary.

Some Jackson County property owners might find themselves doing a doubletake when notice of their updated property value comes in the mail next week.

School systems across the mountains are signing on to a lawsuit against the state to recoup hundreds of thousands of dollars that they say were improperly diverted from public school coffers.