Rutherford College holds property tax and water rates steady

Rutherford College’s property tax rate and water rate will stay the same under the 2026-27 fiscal year budget passed unanimously by the Town Council at its regular monthly meeting Monday evening at Town Hall.

The property tax rate of 12 cents per $100 property valuation is the second lowest in the county, exceeding only the 5-cent rate in neighboring Connelly Springs.

The town sewer rate will rise 20%, meaning an average of $5.15 a month for the average residential customer. That increase will be offset, however, by the town taking over the cost of residential garbage pickup — $7 per month.

The new budget — and the new sewer rate — will go into effect July 1.

“We have worked very hard to find a balance between what is necessary to keep our town healthy and growing and what our residents can afford,” said Town Manager Jessica Bargsley in an information workshop that preceded the regular monthly meeting.

In a planning retreat held earlier this spring, the Council had established its goals for the coming fiscal year as providing more aesthetic street lighting along Malcolm Boulevard; acquiring an Automated External Defibrillator for Town Hall; providing a long slide and disc golf for the Greenway Park; and ensuring an appropriate celebration of the town’s 50th anniversary in 2027.

Due to rate increases from the town’s water and sewer providers — Valdese and Burke County — the plans for improvements to the park will be put on hold for this budget year.

Of the idea for more aesthetic lighting along Malcolm Boulevard, Bargsley said the hope is the lighting can provide, “a softer, cozier, more downtown feel” to the busy street and maybe “get people to slow down just a bit.”

Malcolm Boulevard is one of the busiest thoroughfares in the county and cars and trucks speeding through the downtown area is a constant concern.

Also included in the town budget is $150,000 for a new utility building, $250,000 for repaving of Azalea Street, $25,000 for sidewalk repairs around the town, $10,000 for repairs on Lucas Street, and $3,000 for a new salt spreader.

Other than a question from one town resident about the cost of a sewer tap, none of the dozen or some people who attended the information workshop raised any questions or voiced any concerns.

Several council members praised Bargsley for her thorough job on the budget and the entire town staff for working to cut costs and improve efficiency whenever possible.

In addition to approving the new budget the Council gave its support — in the form of a $1,000 contribution — to a benefit concert being held in September for Lovelady Fire and Rescue.

The department is currently in the process of building a new station and the concert funds will go toward that effort.

The motion to support the concert with a $1,000 contribution was made by Councilman James Huffman and was approved unanimously.

The new station house will be on Malcolm Boulevard, just down the street from JD’s Smokehouse and just before the campus of UNC Health Blue Ridge Valdese.

The current station house is also just a short distance away on Malcolm Boulevard, just below the UNC Health campus.

Lovelady Fire & Rescue has served the Rutherford College community for more than 60 years, providing fire and rescue services in the decades before the town was incorporated in 1977.

When incorporation occurred, town leaders decided not to pursue establishment of a municipal fire department and instead to continue to entrust those responsibilities to Lovelady Fire & Rescue.

“This new building will be a huge step forward for us,” said Deputy Chief Jonathan Holden. “One of the keys is that it will have six truck bays, each built for the larger fire trucks that are being produced now.”

The new building, Holden said, will also have a living area for the paid staff who are at the station 24 hours a day, as well as a large meeting room, a training room, and a pit where maintenance of fire and rescue vehicles can be performed.

In total, the new building will have 15,000 square feet and will cost roughly $4.1 million.

The concert, which will feature free admission but with donations encouraged, will be held on Saturday, Sept. 19, at the Old Rock School in Valdese.

Performing that evening will be the Cockman Family, which specializes in bluegrass gospel. The family was inducted into the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame in 2023.

For more information about the concert, call 704-516-5523.