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Buckingham supervisors adopt farm-vehicle tax ordinance; loggers ask county to study equipment exemption
Summary
After a public hearing and public comment from logging and farm groups, the Buckingham County Board of Supervisors approved a tax ordinance for farm vehicles and agreed staff will draft language to consider an equipment exemption for loggers at the July meeting.
Buckingham County supervisors voted unanimously to adopt a tax ordinance that preserves tax treatment for farm vehicles and opened the door to further study of vehicle- and equipment-related exemptions requested by the logging industry.
The ordinance adopted after a public hearing gives the board authority to exempt qualifying farm vehicles from personal property tax; board members said the vote restores existing practice after a change in DMV processing led to confusion earlier this year. The board also directed staff, the county attorney and the commissioner of the revenue to prepare draft language for a possible equipment exemption and return in July for further consideration.
The Virginia Loggers Association presented to the board before the hearing. Ron Jenkins, representative of the association, told supervisors the county should exempt off-road logging equipment — chippers, skidders and loaders — to sustain the county’s forest industry. “We are here to make sure Buckingham County has a bountiful and healthy supply of forest resources in the future for future generations,” Jenkins said. He urged supervisors to view a short-term revenue reduction as an investment in long-term timber and timber-related revenue.
Ivan Davis Jr., president of the Buckingham County Farm Bureau, spoke during the farm-vehicle hearing in support of retaining farm plates and the county’s existing approach. “We just wanna keep what we’ve had and hopefully some of these other people will now start paying some taxes and have safer vehicles on the road,” Davis said, describing state and DMV steps that tightened eligibility for farm plates.
Board members debated fiscal effects at length. Supervisors acknowledged the county budget is set for the year, and several said any permanent exemption that reduces local revenue must be examined so funds for schools, sheriff’s services and EMS are not impaired. Multiple supervisors recommended a small working group or committee, with industry representatives and board members, to review the fiscal impact and report back before any equipment exemption is adopted.
County staff said an equipment-exemption ordinance is not yet drafted; the county attorney and commissioner of revenue will prepare sample language and fiscal estimates for the July meeting. Jenkins told the board that 17 Virginia counties had adopted similar exemptions or taken related steps; the association asked Buckingham to consider parity with those counties.
The board’s action: supervisors passed the farm-vehicle tax ordinance (yes: 7). The request to study an equipment exemption was accepted as direction to staff rather than as an adopted policy; staff will return with draft ordinance language and fiscal analysis in July.
Why it matters: logging and farming are significant local industries in Buckingham County, and supervisors must weigh tax relief against budget obligations for schools and public safety.
What’s next: county staff, the county attorney and the commissioner of the revenue will prepare draft ordinance language and a fiscal impact estimate on equipment exemptions for the board’s July meeting.
