Powhatan holds public hearings on 2026 operating budget and fee schedule; staff proposes 75¢ tax rate and 3% pay raises

Powhatan County held public hearings on the proposed FY2026 operating budget and a proposed update to the county fee schedule on April 21, 2025. Thomas Vaux, the county’s budget manager, presented a summary of the proposed budget highlights and the timeline for adoption; the board took public comment on the proposals and staff said the board will vote on the operating budget at the next meeting.

Budget highlights

Thomas Vaux told the board the package as presented includes a proposed adopted real property tax rate of 75¢ per $100 of assessed value, expressed in the meeting as 6¢ above the current 69¢ rate and 11¢ above the effective rate (as presented by staff). Vaux said the proposal anticipates about a 17% increase in real estate revenues and that the budget, as presented, includes a net increase of 4.4 full‑time‑equivalent positions (the board previously asked for reductions from an initially larger request). The package also includes a proposed 3% raise for county and school staff at an estimated total cost (salaries and benefits) of roughly $1.5 million and a proposed $1.75 million increase in the transfer to schools.

Public comment

Two members of the public spoke during the general public comment period:

- Elizabeth Blandford (2199 Rawson Road) urged the board to consider county ownership of the Landmark Center buildings to provide needed county office space. Blandford said Powhatan “is on the verge of tremendous opportunities” and told the board she trusted it would “make the correct decision regarding the future of these buildings.”

- David Anderson (Belcrest Circle) addressed communication and framing around tax rates and budgets. Anderson urged the board to discuss budgets in terms the public uses: the actual dollars homeowners pay year to year. He told the board, “The public thinks the amount of real estate taxes they pay year over year is the real headline, not the tax rate.” He also reviewed his research showing real estate tax revenue has increased each of the last five years and urged clearer public explanations about the difference between proposed cuts, adopted spending and the relationship to revenue.

Fee schedule and ordinance O‑2025‑12

Staff opened a separate public hearing on an ordinance (listed in the packet as O‑2025‑12) to amend the county fee schedule. Staff said some fees in the published packet were still being refined and that the board would take public input that night and consider adoption at the next meeting once a clean version of the fee table was posted. Board members asked staff to remove duplicate or struck‑through lines from the packet to avoid confusion; staff said the April 28 packet would contain a clean version and that adoption would be considered at that meeting.

Next steps

Vaux said the board would vote on the operating budget at the next meeting (referred to in the hearing as “next Monday, the 20 eighth”). The fee‑schedule ordinance will be revisited and is scheduled for adoption consideration at the board’s next meeting once staff posts the cleaned‑up fee schedule and any final revisions.

Ending

With no additional public speakers, the board closed the hearings and continued its regular agenda. No budget or ordinance votes were taken at the April 21 hearing; staff and the board scheduled final action at the next board meeting.