Why 2 North Carolina counties are swapping residents in 4 days despite local opposition
.png "This map shows a number of land parcels that will partially or entirely change counties starting on Feb. 2. The blue line reflects the new county line. Green-colored parcels were originally in Lincoln County. The single purple parcel originally was in Catawba County.")
In just four days, a shift in the the Lincoln-Catawba county line could leave some people with lower property values, a new school district and different political representation despite living in the same homes for years.
A new county line drawn by a state surveyor is expected to become final on Feb. 2, moving 386 parcels of land from Lincoln to Catawba County and 86 parcels to Lincoln County. Discrepancies over the county line’s location persisted for years, said Lincoln County public affairs officer Vanessa Leon. The two county boards of commissioners decided in 2022 to work toward reestablishing the line after years of hearing from the North Carolina Board of Elections about voter discrepancies.
It’s unclear how many residents will be affected by the change because not every parcel of land has a residence. And household size varies, Leon said.
The new line was drawn by a surveyor in February 2024, Leon said, but commissioners from both counties initially expressed support for passing a resolution to keep the line the same. Unable to reach an agreement, the newly drawn line becomes final one year after it was drawn by the surveyor, as state law requires.
What changes when county line moves?
Leon said switching counties changes a lot for residents.
“It’s everything from 911, and GIS, taxes, schools, fire districts. I mean, it’s everything you can imagine,” she said at a community meeting for Lincoln County residents Monday evening. “We hate to lose even one resident. They picked to live here, they moved here, or they’d grown up here. We didn’t want to lose a single person… Catawba County gained, even just by gaining one of our residents, because we wanted to keep every single one of them.”
JR Hopson, a 35-year-old Lincoln County resident, said he bought his home in 2019 to be closer to family and because he wanted his children to attend Lincoln County Public Schools. After the change, 90% of his property will lie in Catawba County and he expects his three children will be required to attend school in the district.
Hopson said he also worries about decreased property values because similarly-sized parcels of land are lower nearby in his new home county.
“It’s absolutely wild that in 2025 we can take people and all their hard work and labor building their lives, and without having a consultant, we can decrease their property value, we can take their kids out of schools, just because people couldn’t agree,” Hopson said. “I think that’s insane.”
Hopson said he is concerned about being represented by a commission he didn’t vote for.
“I voted for representation here in Lincoln County from the federal level all the way down. Now, some of my representation, if I become a Catawba County resident in a few days, I will be represented by people that I didn’t have the chance to vote for or against,” he said. “That seems pretty wrong to me.”
Hopson will face a lower property tax rate though. Lincoln County approved a 49.9 cents per $100 in valuation rate for the current budget year compared to 39.85 cents in Catawba County.
Lincoln County Schools change
Lincoln County Commissioner Mark Mullen, who took office in December, still hopes the counties can reach an agreement that prioritizes the desires of residents.
“We’d love to sit down and talk and see what would be best for the people involved… After hearing from people, the biggest concern is the children and keeping them in the school system that they’ve started with,” Mullen said.
Lincoln County Board of Education Chair Christina Sutton said around 120 students could be impacted by the change. The district is doing its best to try to find a solution for students and parents, she said.
“We absolutely want to do everything we can to keep our students in Lincoln County Schools,” Sutton said. “We respect the fact that they created friend groups and we are really advocating and doing our best for them to stay with us.”
School districts and transportation will remain the same until at least the end of the school year. Sutton encouraged affected residents to contact Catawba County school board members to express concerns and urge them to come to a deal with her board.
Sutton said she hopes the boards can reach an agreement that keeps students in their current districts.
Karren Taillon, a current Lincoln County resident, said she bought her home in the county for increased property values and to put her child in Lincoln County Public Schools.
She’s particularly frustrated about the lack of communication from both county commissions, including the cancellation of a public meeting and discussion that happened during closed meetings.
“We had changed our deed to reflect a trust that we put our house into in March of last year… and they didn’t tell us anything at that point,” she said. “They’ve done everything that they can to keep us out of the discussion, and to think that people that you voted for will do that to you is really frustrating.”
This story was originally published January 29, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
