The sausage making begins

 

If Goochland County budget season is kicking into high gear, maybe there will be a spring. On February 18, County Administrator Vic Carpenter presented a draft budget for FY26, which begins on July 1. The draft will be tweaked then a public hearing on it will be held on April 1, with final approval, including setting tax rates for calendar year 2025, on April 15. District 2 Supervisor Neil Spoonhower, who is traveling on business, participated remotely. No vote or other action was taken by the board on the draft budget.

As this was Carpenter’s last meeting, the board wished him Godspeed in his future endeavors. Carpenter submitted his resignation in January effective February 20. The Hon Manuel Alvarez, former District 2 supervisor, will act as interim county administrator beginning on February 24.

The supervisors voted to authorize advertisement of proposed tax rates, including a 53 cent per $100 of assessed valuation real estate tax. The board could decide to adopt a lower tax rate, but not a higher one. Because retention of the 53-cent tax rate, which has been in effect for more than a decade, would generate revenue up more than one percent from last year, it represents a tax increase and, according to state law, must be advertised as such. Please read the following notice for details.

NOTICE OF PROPOSED REAL PROPERTY TAX INCREASE

  7.2.a The County of Goochland, Virginia proposes to increase property tax levies, while keeping the tax rate unchanged at $0.53 per $100 of assessed value.  1. Assessment Increase: Total assessed value of real property, excluding additional assessments due to new construction or improvements to property, exceeds last year's total assessed value of real property by 8.6 percent.  2. Lowered Rate Necessary to Offset Increased Assessment: The tax rate which would levy the same amount of real estate tax as last year, when multiplied by the new total assessed value of real estate with the exclusions mentioned above, would be $0.49 per $100 of assessed value. This rate will be known as the "lowered tax rate."  3. Effective Rate Increase: The County of Goochland proposes to adopt a tax rate of $0.53 per $100 of assessed value. The difference between the lowered tax rate and the proposed rate would be $0.04 per $100, or 8.2 percent. This difference will be known as the "effective tax rate increase."  Individual property taxes may, however, increase at a percentage greater than or less than the above percentage.  4. Proposed Total Budget Increase: Based on the proposed real property tax rate and changes in other revenues, the general fund budget of the County of Goochland will exceed last year's by 7.4 percent and the total budget of the County will be 10.9 percent higher than last year’s budget, primarily due to an increase in Utilities Capital Projects, public safety personnel, and software contracts.  A public hearing on the increase will be held on April 1, 2025 at 6:00 pm in the Board Meeting Room at 1800 Sandy Hook Road, Goochland, VA.

Increases in county fees, including a 2.5 percent increase for water and sewer customers; a 2.5 increase in water and sewer connection fees; and increase for a re-review fee for commercial building plans from $100 to $250, and implementation of a re-review fee of $250 for residential building plans. The proposed personal property tax rate for vehicles is $2.99 per $100 of assessed valuation, unchanged from last year. The ad valorem tax levied on property in the Tuckahoe Creek Service District in addition to real estate tax was proposed to be 32 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, unchanged from last year.

Carpenter outlined the budget process, which began early in October. This included meetings with all county departments, constitutional officers, and schools to review needs and requests for the next fiscal year. Work sessions were held with schools, constitutional officers, and county departments to determine which projects in the five-year capital improvement program (CIP) would be designated for funding in FY26. The supervisors weighed in with their funding priorities.

As the county is required to have a balanced budget, revenue projections—to determine how much money will be available—were carefully monitored. County revenue sources include general property and other local taxes; state and federal aid; fees and charges for services; and grants.

Carpenter’s presentation included several charts and graphs. (Go to chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.goochlandva.us/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/2208 to view). He began with an overview of growth in the county’s general fund, almost doubling between actual FY18, approximately $50.3 million and proposed FY29 projected $95.6 million.

Carpenter contended that the proposed FY26 budget—$148,597,906 up from FY25 $136,136,574 a 9.2 percent increase—was written with the understanding that, as more information becomes available, the board would adjust it as it sees fit. Property valuations increased 11.4 percent from last year, representing $5.4 million in new real estate tax revenue. The draft budget reflects the board’s priorities of education and public safety. The school division will make a budget presentation at the March 4 board meeting. The draft budget, said Carpenter, used very conservative parameters and included a more than $1 million surplus.

The next exhibit demonstrated a dramatic increase in the growth of public safety—law enforcement and fire-rescue—versus general government between FY22 and FY26. This was driven by an increase in the number of deputies and career fire-rescue personnel to handle increased demand for service driven by growth.

Inflation, the need to keep salaried competitive to retain employees, and escalating health insurance premiums have long term impacts on the budget, Carpenter contended. The threat of unfunded state mandates and a possible recession were also considered.

The only new positions included were a second deputy county attorney, hiring and equipping five deputies, and increasing a part time employee in the registrar’s office to full time. Fire-rescue company 8 in Sandy Hook is under construction and will need to be staffed, but no new career fire-rescue employees were included, even though 20 new positions were requested.

Information technology saw a large increase caused in part by rising software licensing fees.

The draft budget said Carpenter is “flat” but does include three percent raises for all county and school employees. External agencies that work with Goochland, like Goochland Cares, received no increase from last year. Goochland Pet Lovers indicated that they no longer need county fiscal assistance. Monacan Soil and Water Conservation District received no funding.

The $5,964,930 CIP proposal includes amounts for fire-rescue apparatus; a chiller for the high school complex, which is vital to keep the school HVAC system, which is more than 20 years old, operating; facilities management; and information technology that would come from the general fund.

Spoonhower noted that, while the county has grown about 20 percent over the past several years, public safety spending has increased by about 100 percent.  He looks forward to departmental budget presentations that explore reasons behind increases.

Charlie Vaughters, District 4, observed that a significant portion of the public safety cost rise could be attributed to the transition of fire-rescue from a volunteer to a mostly career organization. This is a clear indication of the value of the service of fire-rescue volunteers for the past 75 years.

Construction of a new circuit courthouse and the West Creek fire-rescue station, which were supposed to be funded with proceeds of the bond referendum approved in 2021, have been pushed even further back. This seems to be driven by a policy put in place before most of the current board took office establishing a threshold for expenditures versus county cash reserves. At a February 4 workshop, the finance committee voted to reduce the required percentage from 60 to 35 percent. This will be presented to the full board at its March 4 meeting for adoption.

The FY26 budget is a work in progress, stay tuned.