EDENTON — Chowan County Manager Kevin Howard will present a proposed $30.6 million budget for fiscal year 2026-27 to the Board of Commissioners on Monday, a roughly $1.5 million increase over the current year’s approved spending plan with no change to the property tax rate.
The meeting is set for 6 p.m. at the Public Safety Center on West Freemason Street. A public hearing on the proposed budget is scheduled for June 1 at 6 p.m., with budget work sessions set for May 28 and June 4.

“This budget represents our best estimate of revenues and expenditures for FY 2026-2027. Due to the uncertainty we are facing in the economy, adjustments may be required during the year to amend the adopted budget,” Howard wrote in his budget message to the County Commission. “The Chowan County Board of Commissioners is required to approve any such budget adjustments, which increase or decrease a department’s total revenues and expenditures during the course of the fiscal year.”

Worth noting, Howard said, “There is not a tax increase but the budget does reduce the tax rate to $0.6025 based on revaluation. This rate is questionable because the Senate has moved forward a bill that would put a 1 year moratorium on revaluations. That would stop us from using our new values so we would need to figure what the tax rate would need to be based on the old values. We hope to have that for Monday night.”

The revenue-neutral rate is $0.5525 and the proposed tax rate is $0.6025. The tax rate is reduced from the previous year, but there is an increase in what people will pay, due to not decreasing to the revenue-neutral tax rate.

Unlike the federal government, Chowan County can’t just print money to fill holes, meaning we have to live within our means — that also means the county won’t be able to purchase the Death Star this year or pay for a war, maybe invade Gates or Washington counties — an invasion that’s sure to drive up peanut prices.

The budget is available for public inspection in the Clerk to the Board’s office and on the Chowan County website. The board must adopt a budget ordinance no later than June 30, 2026.

One last thing — to learn more about revaluation, click here.

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The Bottom Line
The proposed FY 2026-27 General Fund budget, including the Social Services Fund, totals $30,637,029, compared to the approved FY 2025-26 budget of $29,115,173 — an increase of approximately $1.52 million, or about 5.2 percent.
The proposed Ad Valorem tax rate would remain at $0.6025 per $100 of assessed value on real and personal property and motor vehicles, unchanged from the current year.
The county’s 2026 total property valuation is estimated at $3,038,883,646. Based on audited collection rates from FY 2024-25 — 97.94 percent for real and personal property and 100 percent for motor vehicles — each penny of the tax rate would produce $298,081 in revenue. Property tax collections are projected to generate $17,959,408, representing 69 percent of General Fund revenues.

Where the Money Comes From
Ad valorem taxes would dominate the revenue picture at $18,209,408, or 69 percent of the General Fund. Sales tax revenues are projected at $3,863,973, or 15 percent, with the county anticipating $2,142,850 from the Article 39 one-cent local sales tax, $1,059,833 from the Article 40 half-cent tax, $312,800 from Article 42 and $348,490 from Article 44. The budgeted sales tax figure reflects no increase from FY 2025-26.
Miscellaneous revenues are projected at $1,594,422, or 6 percent of the General Fund. That figure includes $520,000 in projected interest income on investment accounts, $284,316 in building rental fees from properties including the Boys & Girls Club, Valhalla Tower, the 911 Communications Tower and the Albemarle Learning Center, and $172,000 from ABC Store profit distributions.
Departmental revenues are estimated at $972,106, driven largely by $261,696 from the Tri-County Animal Shelter — with Gates and Perquimans counties reimbursing Chowan as fiscal agent — and $239,148 from the Sheriff’s Office through the School Resource Officer program and miscellaneous fees. The Register of Deeds is projected to bring in $293,635, including $193,358 in excise tax revenue split between the county and the state.
The budget would appropriate $1,254,499 from fund balance, representing 5 percent of General Fund revenues. Howard noted that if revenues exceed projections, the full draw on reserves may not be necessary.

Where the Money Goes
Public safety would command the largest share of expenditures at $8,371,560, or 32 percent of the General Fund. The Sheriff’s Office and School Resource Officer program would account for $3,046,873 of that total, with salaries and benefits of $2,538,413. EMS would receive $1,618,229 from the General Fund to cover a revenue shortfall in the EMS Enterprise Fund, which faces total projected expenditures of $2,683,229 against projected revenues of just $1,050,000. Jail operations, including buy-in costs and debt service for the Albemarle District Jail, would total $1,680,888. The 911 communications system would be budgeted at $842,832.
Public education would be the second-largest category at $7,876,688, or 30 percent. Edenton-Chowan Public Schools would receive $5,432,509 for current expenses, distributed in 12 equal monthly installments, plus $90,000 in fines and forfeitures passed through as received. Debt service on the replacement of John A. Holmes High School would account for $1,287,208 from the General Fund, with an additional $582,264 drawn from the School Capital Reserve Fund, for total high school debt service of $1,869,472. College of the Albemarle would receive $273,293 for current expenses and $200,000 for capital outlay at its Chowan campus. Shepard-Pruden Memorial Library would receive $232,402 for operations, $24,369 for building maintenance and $15,000 for HVAC replacement.
Government functions would be budgeted at $4,413,851, or 17 percent, led by Administration and Finance at $917,737 — which includes $269,290 set aside for salary study adjustments to be distributed across departments upon budget adoption. Information Technology would be budgeted at $627,049, with the Town of Edenton expected to reimburse $206,926 of that cost for shared IT services. County maintenance operations would be budgeted at $595,536.
Human services expenditures would total $3,296,640, or 13 percent. Social Services would receive $1,643,824 in county funds as part of a total Social Services Fund budget of $4,265,955, with the remainder covered by federal and state sources. The Recreation Department would be budgeted at $679,411. Cooperative Extension would receive $263,424 plus $53,450 for maintenance of the Agriculture building.
Other services, including economic development, soil conservation, planning and forestry, would total $2,412,335, or 8 percent. An economic development grant would account for $1,996,547 of that figure.

Other Funds
Beyond the General Fund, the budget covers several enterprise and special revenue funds. The Fire Districts Fund projects $1,592,804 in revenues and expenditures, including $1,034,838 to the Town of Edenton for fire services to non-town county residents, $308,384 to Center Hill Crossroads Volunteer Fire Department and $49,805 for a tanker to the Belvidere Chappell-Hill Fire Department.
The Water Department Enterprise Fund would be budgeted at $2,278,037, with utility charges projected at $1,750,000 and a $385,637 draw on fund balance to cover the gap. The Solid Waste Enterprise Fund would be budgeted at $1,468,000.
The Tourism Development Authority Fund projects revenues and expenditures of $308,545, funded by occupancy tax and including $61,500 for advertising and $30,000 for TDA events.
The Debt Service Fund projects total revenues and expenditures of $2,411,341, covering $969,643 in principal payments and $1,266,698 in interest on the county’s debt obligations, plus $175,000 set aside for future ambulance debt service.

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Editor’s note: This story was changed at 11:10 a.m. May 1, 1026, to include the revenue neutral tax rate and the proposed upcoming tax rate.