As The Smoky Mountain News embarks on a yearlong investigative project to explore the rural jail crisis, we wanted to first take a look at how much incarceration is costing the taxpayers in Western North Carolina. 

Financial data was collected from the four counties in our coverage area — Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain — to analyze how much each spends annually on local detention centers and how it impacts the overall county budget. What we’ve found is that costs are rising annually and budgeting can be difficult with so many fluctuating expenses to consider. 

After two consecutive town board meetings during which Cantonians expressed strong opposition to a proposed vehicle registration tax, one thing was clear — residents want better roads, but don’t want to pay for them. 

Property owners, single-family homebuilders and any Waynesville residents who own a car will see their cost of living increase over the next year, under a FY 2018-19 budget passed June 26 that includes an eclectic mix of charges in the form of both tax and fee increases. 

Following plenty of public input, Macon County commissioners approved a final budget for the 2018-19 fiscal year that includes more than $1 million in additional funding for public education. 

Hookup fees are set to plummet for water and sewer customers in Jackson County following adoption of the Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority’s new budget. 

Jackson County Commissioners voted unanimously June 18 to adopt a $71.67 million budget for the 2018-19 fiscal year, which starts July 1. 

This is about money. But it is also about the North Carolina Legislature’s Conference Report on Senate Bill 99, especially the public school portion of the budget for the coming fiscal year. 

This is not about the shoddy way in which the budget was moved forward. But it is about the disrespect shown to those not given a choice. 

Swain County’s proposed budget for 2018-19 will maintain the status quo without a proposed property tax increase or any major capital projects in the works. 

Macon County commissioners are considering contributing another $750,000 toward public education to prevent further drastic cuts to Macon County Schools’ 2018-19 budget. 

When the Jackson County Commissioners met June 5 to discuss final changes to the proposed budget for 2018-19, they came away with more questions than answers when faced with more than $1 million in additional funding requests. But a 10-minute follow-up June 11 was all that commissioners needed to give the OK to the plan county staff developed to address the crunch.