Surry County adopts 2025-26 budget, sets property tax rate at 51.3 cents

The Surry County Board of Commissioners on June 16 adopted the county's fiscal year 2025-26 budget and set the countywide property tax rate at 51.3 cents per $100 of assessed value.

The budget ordinance passed after the board reviewed updated revenue and expenditure figures and agreed to retain revenue-neutral school rates and revenue-neutral fire district rates in most districts, with an exception that leaves Mountain Park's fire tax at its current rate.

Finance Officer Laura Neely told the board that as of the May report general fund revenues were "currently at a total of 79%" of budgeted receipts, and that recent receipts pushed total collections above 100% for the fiscal year so far. Neely said the county has received about $3 million in additional sales-tax receipts since the May report and that overall collections were "100.44% of collections thus far for the budget." She also reported total bank balances through May of $62,710,194.85.

County Manager Chris Kanoff summarized the budget packet and the changes the board had agreed on in the June budget work session. Kanoff said staff had prepared a draft budget ordinance, a short-form summary of changes, and the tax-rate schedules for the county, schools and fire districts for the board's review.

The board discussed a capital request from the sheriff's office for in-car cameras that had been budgeted originally as $472,240 over five years; staff clarified that the request equates to an annual subscription cost of $97,920, and that the five-year total and vendor incentive cited would not add extra costs beyond that subscription schedule.

Commissioners also discussed the overall fund-balance position and the trade-off between small further reductions in the tax rate and retaining additional appropriated fund balance as a buffer against unanticipated vehicle or equipment needs.

After discussion, the board adopted the budget as presented with the changes agreed at the prior work session and the tax and levy directions recited by the manager. The motion and second were made on the record and the chair called for the vote; the motion was carried and the budget ordinance was adopted.

The board also adopted a resolution directing expenditure of opioid settlement funds consistent with the state memorandum of agreement. County staff said the opioid settlement funds are a passthrough and do not affect the county's general fund tax rate.

What the board approved is the operational plan and ordinance for county spending and the accompanying resolutions required to implement the county's fiscal year 2025-26 program and specific settlements; no further public hearings on the main budget were scheduled that night.