Orange County holds public hearing on proposed FY26 budget; public safety, schools and library funding dominate comments

Orange County staff presented a recap of the proposed fiscal year 2026 consolidated budget at a public hearing in which the county outlined revenue drivers, proposed tax‑rate scenarios and capital requests. The board did not take action; the public hearing was opened and closed and the board said it will consider public input before future votes on tax rates and adoption.

Glenda Paul, the county staff presenter for the budget, said property taxes are the largest budget driver — accounting for about 38% of the consolidated budget — and that the county is aligning its real‑estate billing year with the fiscal year. She said the county’s calculated “equalized” rate (a statutory calculation the county must perform) would be 47¢ on the general levy and 11¢ on the Fire and EMS levy (58¢ combined). Under the proposed budget before the board, the rates supporting the budget are 48¢ and 16¢ (64¢ combined). Paul told the board that the county advertised slightly different numbers in publicity to leave room to amend the proposal before adoption.

Paul outlined other budget details: requests for new positions initially totaled nearly $4 million but were reduced in the proposed budget to about $567,000 across the general fund, fire and EMS fund and the landfill fund; the county anticipates funding $28,131,000 for school operating, capital and debt service out of a $35,000,000 request; proposed salary adjustments include a 3% midpoint market wage adjustment and a 1.5% one‑time bonus for constitutional officers (largely state funded). The proposed budget uses about $3.4 million of unassigned general fund balance and includes capital requests such as school bus and ambulance replacements and equipment to bring landfill operations in house. Paul said the board’s policy requires a minimum capital/debt funding amount ($10,613,000) and that proposed capital investment for FY26 is approximately $14.3 million.

Paul noted schedule items following the hearing: a public hearing on tax rates scheduled for May 6 and a planned adoption of tax rates and the budget on May 13.

Public comment focused heavily on public safety staffing, library funding and support for schools. Sheriff Jason Smith and Chief Deputy Michael Lacasse addressed the board and urged approval of additional sheriff’s deputies to handle rising call volumes and to reduce burnout and response gaps. Smith told the board, “Decisions that we make today have a direct impact on our future,” and described deputies responding alone to major incidents and the long hiring and training timeline for new officers. Lacasse described prior unfilled requests and said the sheriff’s office has not received new deputy positions in recent years even as volunteer fire/rescue positions were added, asking the board to consider at least four deputies this year and offering to use a 1¢ tax‑rate increase as a funding mechanism if the board would commit to that.

Residents and community leaders echoed the plea. Larry Moreland of Lake of the Woods said the sheriff’s office had been “critical” to that community, and Kathy Hicks, president of the Lake of the Woods Lions Club, urged more officers to reduce speeding and shorten response times. Emily Mick Savick, chair of the Orange County Public Library Board of Trustees, warned that federal grant reductions will cut library programs and asked the board to consider funding the library’s full request to avoid losing services the public uses for internet access, job help, and tutoring.

Speakers also included David Perdue, chairman of the Montpelier Steeplechase, who said large seasonal events rely on sheriff’s office support; John Ivywood, an English teacher, who supported the school budget and pay parity for educators; and Ben Allman, a fire/rescue speaker, who described staffing changes in his service and suggested coordination across public safety funding sources.

The board closed the public hearing after hearing from 10 registered speakers and additional public commenters. Supervisors said they appreciated the input and will factor it into final deliberations. No tax‑rate vote or final budget adoption occurred at this meeting.