WS Chronicle

Next week the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners will begin its budget process for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. Beginning on Monday, March 10, the board of commissioners will hold a series of public meetings and workshops.  

Budget workshops will be held leading up to the presentation of the County Manager’s proposed budget in May and the commissioners adopting a budget in June. The budget sets the county’s spending and tax rate, which will begin July 1.  

The 2025-2026 budget will be the first led by County Manger Shontell Robinson, who was sworn in last year and is the first Black person and first woman to hold the position.  

When discussing the budget with The Chronicle earlier this week, Robinson said they started the process early this year because she wanted to make sure the board had all the information they needed. The County started working on the budget in January, and on Monday they will hold the first work session, where commissioners will receive updates on some of the items they discussed earlier this year.  

“In that session we will follow up on some of the items we discussed in January, give them a preview of where we are in terms of revenue and expenditures for the current fiscal year … and give them a preview of the 2026 budget,” Robinson said. “We’ll also talk a little about school funding formula options and community grant applications.”  

Property owners throughout Forsyth County should be tuned in for all the budget meetings to see how the recent reappraisal will impact the tax rate. In North Carolina, counties are required to conduct a real estate reappraisal at least once every eight years. Since the mid-1980s Forsyth County has done reappraisals every four years.  

According to the information provided by the Forsyth County Tax Assessor’s Office, nearly all Forsyth County properties have increased in value by an average of more than 50%. While the reappraisal process provides “taxable property value,” commissioners will ultimately determine the tax rate and what property owners will pay. Robinson noted that the county has a history of lowering the tax rate 

“Commissioners will set the tax rate for the county when our budget is adopted in June and on the county side, we have a history of lowering the tax rate in response to tax values drastically going up,” Robinson continued. “But it’s also important for people to know that elected officials for municipalities like the City of Winston-Salem, and Clemmons, Lewisville, Rural Hall, they also set their own budget, and they have their own property tax rate.”  

To ensure that the community is informed and an active participant in the budget process, in addition to the public meetings already scheduled over the next few months, Robinson is holding her own listening sessions. The first listening session was held on Wednesday March 6, at the Forsyth County Central Library. The next one will be held virtually on March 25 at 6 p.m.  

“While I’ve been with the county for 11 years in different roles, I don’t won’t to assume I know what people want, so it’s really important for me to hear from residents and make sure I have a good pulse on what the concerns are … At the end of the day we serve the people, they don’t serve us,” Robinson said.  

Here’s a list of upcoming budget workshops and meetings, along with dates and times. 

*Commissioners’ budget workshops – March 10 and April 7 at 9 a.m. 

*County Manager presents proposed budget – May 8 at 2 p.m. 

*Detailed budget presentation – May 15 at 9 a.m. 

*Budget public hearing – May 19 at 6 p.m. 

*Budget workshop – May 22 at 9 a.m. (if needed additional workshop on May 20 and June 2) 

*Special meeting to adopt the budget – June 5 at 2 p.m.  

If the budget isn’t adopted by the board of commissioners on June 5, it will be considered at a later meeting in June, but prior to June 30, as required by the state. All budget workshops and meetings will be held at the Forsyth County Government Center, 201 N. Chestnut St. Meetings will also be streamed on Facebook, YouTube, and the county’s website.