For the second time in two years, Macon County voters have rejected the implementation of a quarter-cent sales tax to bolster funding for local public schools. However, the margin of defeat for the referendum is shrinking. 

The Town of Sylva will not see a tax increase for the coming budget cycle, but with work looming on N.C. 107, staff are preparing for falling revenues over the next two to four years. 

In recent years, more and more states have made the decision to legalize, regulate and tax recreational cannabis products — despite federal prohibition — but North Carolina isn’t one of them, and the General Assembly doesn’t appear to be favorably inclined to support such measures despite the filing of a House effort last year. 

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.