In a meeting that lasted less than six minutes on Monday, the Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors approved a budget for fiscal year 2026 that includes planned expenditures and projected revenues in the general fund of $65,661,300. Budget approval also included an increase to the real estate tax of 3 cents, from 61 to 64 cents per $100 assessed value.
Prior to the supervisors approving the budget, County Administrator Spencer Suter responded to a letter he received earlier in the day from the Rockbridge Taxpayers Alliance concerning funding for construction of the new Rockbridge Area Department of Social Services headquarters.
The RTA questioned how the project would be funded since a $2.5 million federal grant intended for it had been deleted from the federal budget by the U.S. House of Representatives. Suter responded that the fiscal agent for the project, Lexington City Council, has arranged to have full funding that took into account the absence of federal financial assistance. He noted that the three jurisdictional partners would be making debt payments based on their proportional population shares as spelled out in an intergovernmental agreement.
The county budget that was adopted includes full funding, $158,417, for the county preschool program. That funding had been cut during a budget work session but was restored last week after concerns were raised by numerous citizens.
County employees are to receive 3 percent pay raises, with fire and rescue personnel receiving an additional 10 percent raise. Health insurance premiums are unchanged. The budget includes taking $4,557,316 from reserves to be spent on capital projects.
The county’s personal property tax is unchanged at $4.25, as is the $2.55 tax on machinery and tools. The state’s personal property tax relief act reimbursement rate is set at 30 percent.
Capital improvement expenditures were also approved by the supervisors. These include $239,635 for the county’s share of the first bond payment on the RADSS building, $34,282 for the Rockbridge Regional Library and $231,270 for Central Dispatch.
The revenue sharing payment to the city of Lexington is to be $2,599,414, an increase of $202,425 over this year. The local appropriation to the schools is to be $17,284,708 – a decrease of $17,978.
