By Heather Michon
Correspondent
The Board of Supervisors voted to advertise a public hearing on April 13 to set the county budget for the Fiscal Year 2023 (FY2023) at its regular meeting on Wednesday night (March 16).
The total budget request is $98,202,191. For taxes, the proposed real estate tax is $0.87 per $100 in assessed value, a slight decrease over FY22.
Personal property taxes, by comparison, could see a steep drop from the current rate of $4.35 per $100 down to $3.75 per $100.
Commissioner of the Revenue Andrew “Mel” Sheridan told the supervisors that the value of used cars has skyrocketed by 35 percent, as pandemic-related supply chain issues have pinched car production and increased prices in the used-car market.
He presented a random list showing how the assessed value of popular used cars has increased in the past year. For example, the value of a 2018 Ford F150 pickup truck has climbed 13.9 percent; a 2015 Toyota Camry has shot up 39.66 percent in the same period.
Sheridan asked the supervisors to consider lowering the personal property tax rate to decrease the burden on taxpayers.
Thanks to the final revenue numbers from Sheridan’s office, supervisors found they had some latitude in setting the tax rates due to an unexpectedly large budget surplus of $4.4 million.
After running the numbers, they found they could reduce both the real estate and personal property taxes and still balance the budget.
Chair Mike Sheridan (Columbia) was pleased with the advertised rates, noting that they were able to fully fund the schools and increase county staff compensation rates without pressuring the taxpayers.
The advertised rates are not necessarily the final numbers. There is a possibility they will change slightly before the public hearing on April 13 or before the final vote on April 20. However, the supervisors felt it was unlikely the numbers would go up from this point.
In other news
Supervisors approved a permit for Dominion Energy to build a new substation on Ruritan Road near Cunningham Creek Winery. At the request of residents, the permit was deferred at a previous meeting to have Dominion come up with a new landscape plan to better shield the substation from view.
They also gave unanimous approval to a new agreement with BFI Waste Services to haul waste from the Convenience Center and county-run dumpsters. Overall, the cost to the county will drop rates by an average of $35 per haul.
County Administrator Eric Dahl said they had “some good forward progress today” with the James River Water Authority saying it would be submitting a new application to the Army Corps of Engineers to place a pumping station about a mile upriver from the original site. The Monacan Indian Nation, which believes the original site was the archeological remains of their historic capital Rassawek, provided a letter of approval for the move. Dahl said he would give a full presentation on the project in the near future.
