It was a quiet public hearing Monday on Rockbridge County’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2027 as no citizens stepped forward to make any comments. The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to adopt the budget next Monday, May 11.
Ashton Harrison, finance director, gave a brief overview of budget highlights. No tax increases are proposed. The real estate tax would remain at 64 cents per $100 assessed value. The personal property tax rate, including that for business personal property taxes, is to stay at $4.25. Personal property tax relief is unchanged at 30 percent. The machinery and tools tax rate is to stay at $2.55.
The general fund budget is balanced at $68,190,604 and the capital fund is budgeted at $2,055,423. If the proposed recreation center bond goes forward, $483,561 is budgeted from capital reserves for this project.
The proposed transfer from the general fund to the school fund is set at $17,747,901, which would represent an increase of $463,193, or 2.68 percent, over the current year.
Harrison pointed out that the county is using the best available information on what state funding might be, though the exact amount is presently unknown since a state budget has not yet been adopted.
County employees are slated to get 3 percent pay raises. Health insurance premiums are to rise by 24.2 percent, which Harrison noted is the first increase in three years.
