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Franklin County adopts $233 million FY2026 budget, keeps real-estate rate at 43¢ and denies meals-tax increase
Summary
After debate over a proposed 1¢ real-estate tax increase and a proposed meals-tax rise, the Franklin County Board of Supervisors adopted a $232,999,216 fiscal year 2026 budget and a five-year capital plan, preserving the current 43¢ real-estate rate and rejecting a proposed increase in the meals tax.
The Franklin County Board of Supervisors on a roll-call vote adopted the county’s fiscal year 2026 operating budget totaling $232,999,216 and approved a combined five‑year capital improvement program for county and schools of $150,989,945.
The board voted to leave the real‑estate tax rate at 43¢ per $100 of assessed value after a failed motion to advertise a rate of 44¢. Supervisors also voted to deny a proposed increase in the meals tax to 6%, keeping the current rate in place.
Why it matters: County leaders said they weighed pressures on residents during a difficult winter and slower-than-expected local collections against ongoing needs for school funding, emergency services and infrastructure. Staff recommended using $750,000 from the budget stabilization fund to preserve core capital items after the board rejected new tax increases.
Most important facts: The finance presentation noted property‑tax collections were running behind the historical pace: real‑estate collections were at about 66.8% of budget compared with roughly three percentage points higher at the same time last year, a gap staff said was about $2 million in cash timing. Personal‑property collections improved and were near budget, while local sales tax trailed fiscal-year-to-date trends by about 3.6% (roughly $228,000). Occupancy and meals taxes were near budget benchmarks but showed modest year‑over‑year variation.
Board debate: Supervisor Mitchell, who said he voted for a 1¢ increase earlier in the session, urged building reserves for school resource officers and infrastructure, saying the county faces likely new costs next year tied to education funding and capital needs. Other supervisors, including Supervisor Carter and Supervisor Jamieson, said the county should not raise taxes when many residents face higher household costs; they pointed to one‑time insurance savings and pending large receipts from pipeline tax revenues as offsets.
Formal actions recorded: - Motion to advertise a 44¢ real‑estate rate: FAILED (roll call recorded 5 no, 2 yes). - Motion to keep the real‑estate rate at 43¢: PASSED (roll call 5 yes, 2 no). - Motion to deny the meals-tax increase (keep at current rate): PASSED (roll call 5 yes, 2 no). - Motion to adopt the FY2026 budget for county and schools totaling $232,999,216: PASSED (roll call 6 yes, 1 no). - Motion to adopt the combined county+school five‑year CIP of $150,989,945 (informational: county CIP $69,119,945, school CIP $81,870,000): PASSED (roll call 6 yes, 1 no).
What comes next: Staff will monitor year‑end revenues and the arrival of pipeline ad valorem payments and other one‑time receipts; the board directed staff to consider restoring capital items if revenues permit later in the fiscal year.
Ending: The board and staff framed the budget as balanced without a tax increase, with direction to preserve capital investments where possible and revisit funding if mid‑year revenues or large one‑time receipts materialize.
