Tax rates set, budget adopted

To no one’s surprise, the Goochland County Board of Supervisors set tax rates as proposed a few months ago for calendar year 2019 and adopted the county budget for fiscal year 2020, which begins on July 1.

Goochland County Tax rates for 2019

The budget adopted was pretty much that proposed by County Administrator John Budesky in February after a bit of tweaking that did not alter the bottom line. A notable change was pay increases for both planning commissioners and supervisors.

Unless the new board of supervisors, to be elected in November, decides otherwise, starting January 2020, annual board salaries will be: chair $19,000; vice chair $17,000, other $15,000. Currently, the chair receives $15,000 annually, other, $12,000. When they first took office in 2012, the current board declined the pay increase voted in by their predecessors the previous year—this is mandated by state law. According to Ken Peterson, District 5, that move saved the county approximately $100,000.

Monacan Soil and Water Conservation District Director Jonathan Lyle observed that the supervisor “salary” is, in fact, a partial reimbursement for their hard work on behalf of Goochland. He also acknowledged that his tax bill increased by three percent due to an increase in assessed valuation, but understands the revenue is used to provide core services.

(Candidates for supervisor need to be aware that the office requires far more time that a few hours of public meetings per month. The current board has raised citizen expectations for their elected officials.)

Details of the budget are available on the county website http://goochlandva.us/ and for the school budget go to http://goochlandschools.org/school-board/budget-and-finance/

Perhaps the stickiest wicket in this year’s budget dance was the capital improvement plan. The 25-year CIP included a new court building and Goochland Elementary School in FY ‘24. However, real world numbers will require a larger, and more expensive GES. The board looked at pushing the courthouse project back to FY’33 but changed that to FY’28.

Circuit Court Judge Timothy K. Sanner expressed serious concerns about the safety of the existing structure, built almost 200 years ago. Budesky said that all parties concerned: the judge, the sheriff, clerk of the court, and county, will examine the issue more closely and revisit it next year. Any borrowing for the court building and GES, perhaps after a public referendum, will not occur for a few years, so deferring this until next year, when a new board is in place, is a reasonable course of action.

The annual budget process is a lengthy affair whose success is the result of collaboration among all departments of the county; school division, and constitutional officers. The cordial relationship between the county and schools sets Goochland apart from most jurisdictions in the Commonwealth.

This excerpt from the April 16 blog of School Superintendent Dr. Jeremy Raley is an indication of the fruits of that alliance.

 “Today, the Goochland County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved its 2019-2020 budget, a budget that provides our school division with the personnel, facilities, and resources that will move our school division forward on our journey to maximize the potential of every learner.  The initiatives outlined in this proposed budget align with our strategic plan and are aimed at maintaining our position as a leader in the Commonwealth.

Thank you to all of our school division staff and our School Board who have dedicated many hours to the development and finalization of this year’s budget process.  I also want to sincerely thank the Goochland County Board of Supervisors for their ongoing support, investment, and recognition of the importance of preparing our students for making a positive impact in our ever changing world.”