Powhatan supervisors review 10-year CIP, schools ask to borrow $11.3 million; tax-rate choices loom

Powhatan County staff on March 17 presented a trimmed 10-year capital improvement program (CIP) and the draft fiscal year 2026 budget, laying out competing priorities for schools, utilities, public safety and facilities while warning that long-term water and wastewater obligations could raise future costs.

The presentation showed the FY26 CIP aligned with a draft 72¢ real-estate tax rate and proposed borrowing for school projects. County staff said schools would need about $11.3 million in bonds to fund most of their FY26 requests; the county has already issued about $5 million for earlier school HVAC and demolition work.

Why it matters: the board must balance one-time capital needs, recurring operating pressures and a multi-year outlook that, under the staff model, can push fund balances below policy in the early 2030s if all projects proceed at the highest-cost options. Supervisors asked for clearer year-by-year priorities and asked staff to present alternatives and grant assumptions before finalizing tax-rate advertising.

County presentation and staff cautions

Brett, a county staff member who led the CIP presentation, said the packet shows FY26 items that would be funded at a 72¢ rate and a separate column with the full 10-year list. He told the board the draft CIP initially included the most expensive options for several water and wastewater strategies so the financial model would show a “worst case” trajectory; if the county selects lower-cost alternatives the forecast improves.

Brett said the county has already issued roughly $5,000,000 “for the high school HVAC, majority of…