Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the County Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County administrator says budget balances without tax increase by tapping rainy‑day fund
Summary
County Administrator outlined a FY2026 draft budget that keeps the tax rate unchanged by increasing the planned transfer from the county''s fund balance; administrator said departments were trimmed and some costs will be covered by grant awards.
King George County Administrator Mr. Smolnick told the Board of Supervisors on April 11 that the county's draft fiscal 2026 budget is balanced without a proposed real‑estate tax‑rate increase by using more of the county's fund balance.
Smolnick said the budget proposal assumes no tax increase and relies on a transfer from the fund balance of about $3.49 million, up from last year's transfer of $2,551,913. "To keep the tax rate 0," he told supervisors, the county would need to transfer roughly $3,490,005.31, an increase the county administrator described as roughly $938,000 compared with the prior year.
Smolnick said department line items were pared where possible and that the budget team used a "living document" approach, updating departmental requests and redlining savings. He showed supervisors how changes from the March 18 draft were tracked, and said many departmental increases proposed earlier were reduced after further review.
The administrator emphasized reliance on non‑tax sources where possible. He asked the board to direct staff on several items during the work session and said a contingency account and the county's remaining reserves provide a backstop if unexpected costs arise before the public hearing.
Board members discussed transfer and investment policy questions during the session. Smolnick and other staff said they are working with the treasurer and finance staff to move a larger portion of idle cash into short‑term investments and to allocate interest back to the various county funds, a change the county administrator characterized as a work in progress to improve overall returns on the county's balances.
Supervisors also signaled support to add $150,000 to the community development professional services line for a comprehensive plan update; staff said that amount would be included in the draft to be advertised for the public hearing. Smolnick said a final state budget (expected after May 2) could still affect revenue estimates and that changes could be made before the advertised public hearing if the overall advertised number is not increased.
The board set the draft budget for advertisement and planned a public hearing at the next meeting to consider final adoption.
