County
Eyes 3-Cent Tax Hike
Proposed Budget Goes To Hearing April 28
Rockbridge County’s real estate tax rate would go up by 3 cents – from 61 cents to 64 cents per $100 valuation – under a proposed fiscal year 2026 budget that is being advertised in today’s newspaper.
A public hearing on the proposed budget has been scheduled for Monday, April 28, and the supervisors plan to adopt a budget a week later on Monday, May 5.
County Finance Director Ashton Harrison reported Monday, during the Board of Supervisors regular meeting, that the supervisors’ finance committee had managed to balance projected revenues with planned expenditures for next year.
The proposed 3-cent tax hike would generate $979,914 that would be transferred to the capital purchases fund with the idea that this would cover the costs of four new school buses and five sheriff’s vehicles. It is also proposed that half of the surplus at the end of the fiscal year go into reserves to cover capital expenditures.
The draft budget at the supervisors’ most recent work session on March 31 had a gap of $708,709 between projected revenues and planned expenditures. This gap has been closed, Harrison explained, by revising projected revenues upwards from the BPOL, cigarette, utilities, sales and lodging taxes, reducing planned spending in solid waste and eliminating expenditures for the preschool program.
The current draft budget sets revenues and expenditures at $65,514,357, which would be an increase of $1,042,633, or 1.5 percent over the current year. Revenues include using $4,557,316 from reserves for capital projects, including $643,520 from restricted reserves generated by EMS recovery fees.
The draft budget calls for all county employees to receive 3 percent cost of living raises, with fire and rescue personnel to get an additional 10 percent raise. Health insurance premiums are to remain unchanged.
CIP expenditures include $34,282 for the Rockbridge Regional Library, $231,270 for Central Dispatch, $239,635 for the first bond payment on the new Social Services building and $229,300 for the South River collection center. Revenue sharing with the city of Lexington is up $202,425 based on the FY 24 audit. The planned local appropriation to the schools is $17,284,708 – a decrease of $17,978 over this year.
The personal property tax remains unchanged at $4.25, as does the machinery and tools tax at $2.55. Personal property tax revenue is up by $1,198,110 due to increased valuations and more accurate estimating. The state’s personal property tax relief act reimbursements to the county are set at 30 percent.
