Powhatan supervisors approve emergency extension of property-tax billing deadline to June 30

The Powhatan County Board of Supervisors on May 19, 2025 approved an emergency ordinance extending the county’s property-tax billing deadline after staff said the current billing software failed to produce bills on the usual schedule.

County staff told the board the Keystone billing software is still in use and has repeatedly caused delays; the county has funded an upgrade to Aveniti software but implementation remains months away. County staff asked the board to approve an emergency extension so bills can be issued without multiple reissuances. “We understand it's a headache and inconvenience for the public,” a county official said.

Supervisors approved a motion to set the emergency extension to June 30, 2025, with the caveat that July 7 could be needed if data are not available in time. The board took a roll-call vote; Supervisors McClung, Powers, Morissette and Chair Donati voted aye and the motion passed.

Staff said the county will place the revised dates on the tax bills and run a social-media and website outreach campaign to notify residents, and will coordinate additional methods with the commissioner and treasurer’s offices. County staff noted that the June 30 target helps keep billing within the fiscal year for auditing purposes, and that personal property billing was largely complete at the time of the meeting.

The board discussed notice methods and asked staff to take responsibility for public communication. Staff said bills will show the new dates and the county will begin social-media pushes the following day; they also said they will work with the commissioner and treasurer to determine whether CodeRED or other direct-notification tools should be used.

The board approved the emergency extension by motion and roll call; the ordinance will be ratified at a future meeting.