Nelson County supervisors hear FY2026 budget overview that holds tax rates, boosts school funding and funds DSS project

Nelson County Board of Supervisors held a public hearing May 13 on the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget, during which county staff presented a balanced general fund budget of $51,088,536 that keeps existing tax rates and increases the county's local contribution to schools.

Grace, a county staff member who presented the overview, said the budget covers the period July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, and is based on budgetary information available when the public hearing was advertised. She told the board that all tax rates shown, except the transient occupancy tax, are levied per $100 of assessed value and that the real estate and mobile-home tax rate remains 65 cents per $100 of assessed value.

The nut graf: the proposed general fund is balanced at $51,088,536 and relies on a mix of local, state and federal revenue plus a FY2025 year-end balance. The presentation highlights increases in local revenue and a larger local contribution to Nelson County Public Schools (NCPS) while preserving existing tax rates and funding several capital and public-safety items.

County staff said local revenue is expected to provide about 79.9% of total budgeted revenue ($40,832,717), state revenues about 9.9% ($5,073,398) and federal revenues about 2.6% ($1,310,121). A FY2025 year-ending balance of $3,872,300 is included in FY2026 revenues. The budget presentation projected a small overall increase in the general fund compared with the current-year amended budget — $212,195 or 0.42%.

On taxes and yields, the presenter said the tangible personal property tax rate is $2.79 per $100 of assessed value and the machinery and tools rate is $1.25 per $100; both rates are unchanged since 2022. The transient occupancy tax rate remains 7%. Staff projected real estate tax revenue of $21,211,138 for FY2026 and calculated the per-penny equivalent at $326,325.

School funding was a central element of the presentation. The FY2026 school fund is advertised at $33,879,480; the county's local operational contribution to schools is $20,769,070, an increase of about $1.6 million over FY2025. Including debt service, county support for schools was presented as $22,311,860. Staff said the county will fund four school buses from capital funds and budgeted funding for four school resource officers (one partially state grant funded).

Grace told the board the local per-pupil expenditure for FY2026 would be $14,657 based on the advertised enrollment of 1,417 students, and total per-pupil spending (local, state and federal) was shown as $23,909. The presentation noted the county's local composite index at 0.6645 and that local funding exceeds the Virginia Department of Education required local share for standards-of-quality programs.

Capital and public-safety items highlighted in the budget included an estimated $7,100,000 remaining construction cost for a Department of Social Services building, $2,135,448 in total capital outlay (including school bus purchases), purchases of sheriff's vehicles and equipment, funding for a 2026 ambulance, IT and network upgrades, and upgrades to fire/rescue pagers and court audio-visual systems. The presentation also listed contributions to outside agencies including the Nelson County Health Department, Jefferson Madison Regional Library, Monticello Area Community Action Agency (MACA), Foothills Child Advocacy Center and others.

Personnel changes in the proposed budget include a 3% cost-of-living increase for full- and regular part-time employees, a 3% compensation board salary increase for constitutional officers, an additional 6% increase for full-time dispatch employees (previously approved), a one-time 1.5% bonus for full-time employees and a $200 bonus for regular part-time employees. Grace said no new positions are included in the FY2026 budget.

The presenter said federal categorical aid is expected to decline primarily because of a reduction in ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds available through FY2025. She warned that state and federal budget decisions could affect the final general fund and school operating budgets before board adoption.

During the public hearing, resident Steve Bain of 620 Farnock Cline, Nellysford, said, “Nelson County does not have a revenue problem. Its revenues are sufficient to deliver county services,” and urged continued fiscal discipline after attending budget work sessions.

Per state code, the board must wait at least seven days following the public hearing before adopting the budget. The presenter noted the board may adopt the FY2026 budget as early as May 20 but has planned final action for the June 10 regular board meeting.

Less than one week after the hearing, the board moved to continue the meeting to a May 16 work session for further budget fine-tuning; the motion was seconded and approved by roll call. That continuation will allow staff to provide additional analysis before final adoption consideration.