[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6090276,"mediaKeyId","2867807-040acd494714c9c2d73cbac890fa5094","parentId",2867807,"title","Madison County supervisors direct staff to advertise maximum 52¢ tax rate for public hearing, approve tax-deadline extension","audioSeconds",4122,"startMs",6722000,"endMs",10844000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2867807-040acd494714c9c2d73cbac890fa5094&start=6722&end=10844","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2867807-040acd494714c9c2d73cbac890fa5094/thumbnail_6722000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6090276/Madison-County/Virginia/Madison-County-supervisors-direct-staff-to-advertise-maximum-52-tax-rate-for-public-hearing-approve-tax-deadline-extension","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6090276-a2aac085fca93d4d38f1e8935a0de406/orig.mp4?Expires=1771181529&Signature=ByH4yrHLYtpRPbFof6UJ2Aylso2E9xjAxfQBFfrYsjLmCInIvA13X7lM~E5SQtmSBrTOnjCCBGmZp9TmGx6dMdEJabSmHxvHtcatC~-QIID3T5UvMjEg~iqJkE40eFHEk1jLfZwHK1gNoMRR-1XDRLSZGtHVVKVc9W8m7ARxA0T7iN7ge-qCi66PjMy-NDTuAKbT4dsPkyBL4Bowww2mr46ttA0~pGZ1j-tCiJJwIfVOXC694QsRF1fV3lcnmwJGFm8CdeeCGAAbtx-1FFaNDvUeNlINdRmoYNAanCbwV-9i4W9dUy~9aE8t82F0JjSWfv~NUsXu-rIvnP7ddeF6aw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Madison County, VA","date","2025-04-04T00:16:09.18Z","article","The Madison County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday directed staff to advertise a maximum real-property tax rate of $0.52 per $100 of assessed value for upcoming hearings and approved a resolution extending the calendar‑year tax due date to June 20, 2025.

County finance staff, led by Jennifer Warren, told the board that to balance the operating budget under current assumptions the county would need roughly a three-cent increase in the real-estate tax rate. \"We'd have to raise 3¢ pretty much to balance the budget,\" Warren said while reviewing revenue and spending scenarios. After discussion the board agreed to advertise a maximum rate of $0.52 (the equalized rate is 49¢) and to allow public hearings where supervisors can adopt a lower figure.

Warren walked supervisors through a package of department and outside-agency reductions that reduced the preliminary requests and narrowed the opening-appropriation gap. Staff said the capital-financing options presented earlier by Davenport — interim borrowing and package financing — influenced the recommended approach to preserve fund balance while balancing the operating budget.

The board also voted to adopt Resolution 2025‑3 to move the county's tax payment deadline this year from the statutory June 5 date to June 20, 2025. County staff explained the later date corrects an earlier scheduling error and provides a consistent, single-date extension for property taxpayers; the resolution passed on a voice vote without a roll-call tally.

On administrative fees, staff recommended two modest adjustments for advertisement and public hearing: raise the county transfer-station commercial haul rate from $0.65 per ton to $0.70 per ton, and consider a small increase in animal-shelter adoption fees (staff proposed a $5 increase as a starting point and discussed a possible tiered fee based on age/size). Supervisors asked staff to refine fee language and revenue estimates before the public hearing.

Other budget details discussed at length included departmental capital requests for fiscal 2026: EMS equipment leases and an ambulance replacement schedule, servers and IT hardware, school facility priorities (windows, HVAC and auditorium AV), fleet purchases for the sheriff and building & zoning, and possible shift of some projects out of FY26. Staff and the board agreed to refine the school and county CIP lists, ask departments for specific life‑cycle and lease‑vs‑buy analyses, and return with a final draft budget at next week's meeting.

Votes and formal actions: The board adopted the agenda at the start of the meeting (motion and second; voice vote) and later approved Resolution 2025‑3 extending the tax deadline to June 20, 2025 (motion, second; voice vote — \"Aye\"). The board made no final tax-rate adoption at this meeting; the staff was directed to advertise a maximum rate of $0.52 and bring formal rates and the budget back for the statutory public hearings.

Why this matters: Advertising a maximum rate begins the public-notice process required by state law and starts public hearings that will determine the county's tax levy. The tax-deadline extension affects the due date for most real-estate payments this year and is intended to give taxpayers a short administrative extension.

Next steps: Staff will post the advertised tax rate and proposed administrative fee changes, refine revenue and department scenarios for a final budget presentation next week, provide detailed breakdowns of capital requests (schools and county), and return with recommended language for fee changes and any contingency items the board asks to earmark.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Board of Supervisors' Budget Worksession 04/03/2025","oneSentenceSummary","Supervisors directed staff to advertise a proposed maximum property tax rate of $0.52 for public hearing and approved a resolution moving the real-estate tax due date to June 20, 2025. Staff also proposed modest fee increases for commercial hauling and animal-adoption revenue to help close an operating gap.","taxTitle","Madison County, Virginia","taxId",37279,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6090282,"Davenport warns Madison County fund balance is shrinking, lays out $12M borrowing option to protect reserves",1146,666000,1812000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2867807-040acd494714c9c2d73cbac890fa5094&start=666&end=1812","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2867807-040acd494714c9c2d73cbac890fa5094/thumbnail_666000.jpg","/articles/6090282/Madison-County/Virginia/Davenport-warns-Madison-County-fund-balance-is-shrinking-lays-out-12M-borrowing-option-to-protect-reserves","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6090282-8c4c69988f53211a6f620ffc7db4e259/orig.mp4?Expires=1771181529&Signature=EBmup-EjOok99vDI7xN9yNe798UC-4TKobf7LLtgTWticuiYxRDntB-CjvRy0VbRpDokEXM06VCDYMt8ahr4inWYyZkmxi8~22skW2ewq-Sm8OspUbmMS3sifr7HweOUZgxrspM3pmRbWCKroo764JqsW~Jl-eabEyYspFqodDJeryaKzAmbybVFXBQKaSEsTZwZdlhlBwA4vDqZ5imJSHPlvXtuUsaXKcmwHld1j2lHY1YgE0mAwKTu1wNl4lJvun~Ct1LJwZl-4HzNL3mlptsRL2YgB0-70Qukw0tfAC2W1FeySuqPZ-5lGJkck175pK1PhIstVhFVdGegTLL~hw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Davenport financial advisers told the Madison County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that the county's fund balance is trending downward and presented two borrowing scenarios to fund next-year capital needs.

The presentation, delivered by Kyle Locks of Davenport, framed the immediate issue as protecting the county's fund balance while moving forward on roughly $11.9 million of identified capital needs in fiscal 2026–2027. \"Fund balance is arguably the most important financial measure that we look at,\" Locks said during the briefing, adding that current trends show a decline in fundamentals.

Davenport showed a five-year capital plan that totaled roughly $22.5 million across county and school projects, with about $12 million concentrated in the two-year window the firm described as critical for budgeting. Its two scenarios were: borrow for the full basket of projects (about $11.9 million) or borrow only for vehicles and equipment (about $5.5 million). Using conservative assumptions — a notional 5% interim interest rate in the firm's model and a later permanent terming — the firm said interim financing would have a smaller, more manageable short-term budget impact than funding projects entirely from cash.

The firm recommended a flexible interim-financing structure (competitive bank-market term loan/commercial-paper-style approach) that would let the county draw funds over two to three years and later \"term out\" the financing on a shorter permanent schedule (Davenport modeled a roughly 7‑year permanent repayment once projects were placed). Locks said that approach spreads costs across years when projects are actually executed and reduces immediate drawdown of fund balance.

Davenport pointed to several mechanisms that could reduce net borrowing costs if available: reinvesting borrowed proceeds in the state-run SNAP program while funds are spent (which could offset some interest cost), and packaging projects to secure better pricing in a competitive bank bid. \"There is a SNAP program run by the state that, in appropriate circumstances, allows borrowed proceeds to be reinvested to help cover interest cost while money is being spent down,\" Locks said.

Supervisors pressed on implementation details. Supervisor Jewett asked whether repayment schedules would match useful life; Locks said repayment terms should be aligned to underlying asset lives (for example, longer terms for school buses or building work and shorter terms for vehicles). The board also discussed whether to pursue voter-backed measures for very large, long-lived projects; Davenport and staff said such ballot measures are typically reserved for major school or building projects and are not common for fleets or routine equipment.

Board members raised process questions: whether the county should borrow before it needs cash, how interim borrowing would be invested while held, and whether a bond or commercial loan market approach made more sense. Davenport recommended a competitive bank bid for flexibility and speed, saying a bundled bank financing historically yields better results for a mix of equipment, vehicles and smaller building projects than ad-hoc leases from multiple vendors.

What happened and why it matters: Davenport's analysis gives the board a calibrated path to complete near-term capital projects without sharply eroding the county's policy-directed fund balance. The firm’s interim-financing recommendation is designed to preserve liquidity and avoid using one-time fund balance to pay for recurring needs or to deplete reserves below policy levels.

Next steps: County staff and Davenport will refine the project list and cost allocations, test final financing pricing, and return with a recommended structure. The board asked staff to provide a more detailed breakdown of the $12 million basket for fiscal '26 so supervisors can prioritize specific projects before any borrowing is authorized.

Ending: The presentation closed with Davenport offering to return with more detailed amortization schedules and to run sensitivity scenarios once supervisors narrow project priorities. No formal financing action was taken at the meeting; the board directed staff to continue work with Davenport on project prioritization and financing options.","Financial advisors from Davenport told the Madison County Board of Supervisors that the county's fund balance is declining and presented interim financing options to spread capital costs over time. The firm recommended a conservative short-term borrowing plan to preserve policy targets while completing prioritized capital projects.","actionData","errors"]

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Madison County supervisors direct staff to advertise maximum 52¢ tax rate for public hearing, approve tax-deadline extension

Davenport warns Madison County fund balance is shrinking, lays out $12M borrowing option to protect reserves