Tazewell County presents FY 2026 budget; officials highlight steadier revenues and lingering storm uncertainty

Tazewell County officials presented the county manager's advertised FY 2026 budget during the June 3 Board of Supervisors meeting, framing the plan as largely stable but noting ongoing uncertainty from storm reimbursements and commodity taxes.

County staff told the board the advertised budget totals $75,939,000, approximately a $561,000 (about 1%) increase from the prior year. The presentation emphasized that a 2024 general reassessment increased real property values, allowing the county to replace some federal COVID-era revenues that had previously covered rising costs. The county manager said reserves have grown from about $750,000 in 2018 to roughly $8 million but cautioned the board that hurricane reimbursements from FEMA may arrive later than expected. "We have in the budget that we're gonna get a million dollars from FEMA for the damages we suffered during the hurricane," county staff said; FEMA had previously indicated reimbursements might take up to two years.

Key revenue notes in the presentation: - Real property tax revenue increased after the 2024 reassessment; appeals processed by the Board of Equalization resulted in only modest reductions (about $80,000, staff said). - Machinery and tools tax receipts from local mining companies were higher than projected, helping balance the budget. - Coal severance revenue, previously growing, showed signs of decline; staff indicated a likely downward revision of several hundred thousand dollars from earlier projections. - Casino and meals taxes contributed to revenue growth; meals tax proceeds were dedicated to fire and EMS programs in the advertised plan.

Spending and priorities called out in the presentation included stable funding for the landfill (though staff said the county and landfill contractor disagree over responsibility for post-storm repairs), a planned $300,000 lease for sheriff's vehicles to update the fleet, and capital projects listed separately from the operating budget. The manager also presented a decision matrix showing prioritized budget requests and potential cuts; if revenues fall short of the advertised ending balance target, lower-priority items (such as some grants and contingency) would be cut first.

The county manager said he plans to budget FEMA reimbursements to go to reserves if they arrive this year and emphasized the uncertainty around timing. He also told the board that public hearings on the budget had no immediate public comments at that meeting and invited further questions; the board set a follow-up hearing in June for final adoption.

The presentation included detailed breakout slides for constitutional offices, outside agencies and capital projects; staff said many capital items are grant-dependent and may not proceed if grant funding is not secured. The manager asked the board to review the decision matrix and flagged items likely to be cut should the final revenues be lower than projected.