What's Important to You?

This simulator is designed to give residents an educational and hands-on look at how Gaston County’s budget is developed and how funding decisions are made.

You will be working with a fixed budget that reflects an estimated County property tax bill for a $300,000 home, based on a tax rate of 59.9 cents per $100 of value (used for illustration only).

While the total budget in this activity is held constant, the cost of providing County services has increased by 3% due to inflation. You will see how last year’s tax bill was allocated across services and how much funding is now needed to maintain current service levels. Because costs are higher, not all services can be fully funded.

Use the sliders to allocate funding across categories. Funding more in one area requires funding less in another. Your input will help inform future budget discussions but does not represent final budget decisions or tax rates adopted by the Board of Commissioners.

Be sure to click SUBMIT at the bottom of this page!