Board holds public hearing on $257.6 million FY2026 county budget; no public comment or action taken

Pittsylvania County staff presented the proposed FY2026 county budget at a public hearing on May 13, reporting a total of $257,574,766 and stating the plan uses no unassigned fund balance to cover expenditures.

Miss Vanderheide said the budget was presented to the board on April 15 by Mister Shorter and that the county advertised the budget April 23 and April 30, meeting the statutory notice requirements. "All of these items that I'm speaking of, do meet the requirements of Virginia code section 15.2," Vanderheide told the board when describing the schedule and legal requirements for the hearing.

The public hearing drew no registered speakers and no one came forward during the open comment period. The board made no changes to the county budget at the May 13 meeting; staff said the budget will lay over for seven days and is scheduled for final approval on May 20.

Supervisors took a moment to publicly thank Vanderheide and Mister Shorter for the budget work and for outreach to the public. Board members described outreach events and presentations that staff made in recent weeks to explain figures and the process; one supervisor noted a public presentation drew about 30 attendees.

Because the county staff reported revenues sufficient to cover expenditures and the budget uses no unassigned fund balance, staff characterized the budget as balanced pending final board action. No formal amendments or votes on the county budget were taken at the May 13 meeting; the board will consider final adoption at the May 20 meeting.