Meals tax public hearing set for March 19
By Heather Michon
Correspondent
Fluvanna homeowners will soon receive their updated real estate assessments – and they might be surprised by the final figures.
Fred Pearson of Pearson Mass Appraisal Service told the Board of Supervisors on Wednesday (Jan. 22) that the average valuation of a home in Fluvanna County was up 25 percent over the previous assessments made in 2022.
Those with homes over 1,200 square feet might see valuations up by between 35 and 60 percent.
“We just reflect the market,” Pearson said when asked about the increases. “And it’s not just this county. It’s other counties as well.”
Virginia counties must update real estate assessments every two to six years. The assessments are then used to calculate a homeowner’s tax bill.
Fluvanna Commissioner of the Revenue Andrew Sheridan said that residents should know that “it may say you have a 24 percent increase in assessed value, but it doesn’t mean your taxes are going up 24 percent.”
Unlike some counties, Fluvanna uses equalization of the real estate tax rates to prevent sharp increases to annual tax bills.
The assessment letter should be issued within the next couple of weeks.
If residents feel that their assessment is incorrect, Pearson and his team will be ready to answer questions and make adjustments if necessary.
“We’re going to listen to homeowners,” said Pearson. “We just want to get it right.”
Meals tax set for hearing
Along with real estate, personal property, and transient occupancy taxes, Fluvanna may have a meals tax by summer’s end.
Supervisors voted 3-2 to advertise a public hearing on establishing a food and beverage tax at their March 19 meeting.
The tax would apply to food and drinks purchased at restaurants and ready-to-eat meals at store delis. It will not apply to groceries.
The county could take in $300,000 to $600,000 annually on a meal tax, and could grow dramatically once the Wawa is built at Zion Crossroads.
Fluvanna voters rejected a meals tax in a 2018 referendum. A change in the state law in 2021 now allows boards of supervisors to approve the tax without a popular vote.
Supervisors were split on the issues, with Chris Fairchild (Cunningham) and Mike Goad (Fork Union) arguing it put an unreasonable burden on citizens. Mike Sheridan (Columbia), Tony O’Brien (Rivanna) and Tim Hodge (Palmyra) argued it gives them more options for taxation and could help reduce the burden on property owners, who now contribute most of the county’s annual revenue.
Sheridan, in particular, said that some of the money raised by the meals tax should go into a fund for new school construction.
“We have an elementary school that’s 60 years old,” he said. “It was an older building when I went there 50 years ago.”
“I wouldn’t have voted for it eight years ago, and I can’t see voting for it now,” said Fairchild. “I puts an additional burden on restaurants, and it raises taxes on our citizens.”
Fairchild and Goad floated an alternative idea of creating a special tax district that would cover businesses in certain areas but leave others exempt. County Attorney Dan Whitten said he would look into the idea.
After a sometimes animated debate, the majority voted to move forward and approve the March 19 public hearing.
The advertised rate will be six percent, the maximum allowed by law, but will probably be set at five percent, with two percent of the revenue allocated for a school construction fund.
If approved following the hearing, the tax could go into effect as early as August 1.
