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Fauquier County adopts FY2026 budget, raises general real-estate rate 1.9¢
Summary
The Fauquier County Board of Supervisors adopted the fiscal year 2026 budget and five-year capital improvement plan and set the county'wide tax rate at 0.967 with a 1.9¢ increase to the general real-estate rate and a 0.5¢ fire levy increase. The measure passed 3-2 after debate about using higher revenue to shore up health insurance reserves.
The Fauquier County Board of Supervisors voted to adopt the fiscal year 2026 budget, set the countywide tax rate at 0.967, and approve the FY2026-2030 capital improvement plan at a regularly scheduled meeting. The adopted tax package includes a 1.9¢ increase to the general real-estate rate and a 0.5¢ increase to the fire rescue levy.
The change to the general rate and fire levy together will raise the average homeowner's real-estate bill by about $110 a year, or about $9 a month, according to county staff. The vote on the budget resolution passed by a 3-2 tally after a proposal to increase the general rate to 2.5¢ was introduced and later withdrawn.
Board members said the budget balances competing priorities including school funding, public safety needs and preserving reserves. Under the adopted scenario, school division funding increases to 52.85 percent of the tax dollar allocation, up roughly 0.2 percentage points from the prior scenario. County staff said shifting approximately $800,000 in public-safety asset replacements to the fire levy reduced pressure on the general rate.
Supervisor Mr. Broadus urged a larger increase, saying the county risks depleting surplus reserves while responding to uncertainties in federal and state policy and unpredictable claims experience for the shared health fund. "It's about 920,000," Broadus said, referring to the additional revenue his 2.5¢ proposal would have raised, and warned that projected health insurance gaps could be roughly $6,000,000 this year.
Other supervisors pushed back, saying the board has historically carried forward reserves and must weigh taxpayer burden. "We have to be very judicious with how we do that," said Mr. Culberson, who argued for minimizing rate increases and for future work sessions to examine fiscal choices.
The board discussed capital items that staff plan to fund through transfers from capital reserves rather than including them in the operating budget, including a sheriff's office radio purchase (about $835,000) and an electronic pollbook replacement for the registrar (about $55,000). Staff also noted one-time construction for Park and Recreation central sports phase 2 and several technology investments.
A substitute motion to adopt the budget as presented was made and seconded; the final roll call was recorded as 3 in favor and 2 opposed. The board then moved on to other agenda items.
