Westmoreland supervisors adopt FY2026 budget, cut machinery-and-tools rate and add youth sports funding

The Westmoreland County Board of Supervisors on May 12 adopted the county administrator's proposed fiscal year 2026 budget and a set of accompanying fiscal resolutions, cutting the advertised machinery-and-tools tax rate and adding funding for local youth programs while approving a countywide salary adjustment for employees.

The adopted total all-funds budget is $87,328,511, the county's budget manager, Garrett Adams, told the board. Adams said the county advertised a machinery-and-tools rate of $2 per $100 of assessed value but recommended reducing that rate to $1 after a major employer bought machinery that will increase tax revenue; the change still yields about $111,000 more revenue than previously anticipated, Adams said.

The board also approved a one-time contribution increase for local youth organizations: $8,000 for the Westmoreland Youth Football League to match the county's contribution to Little League, and funding for the Westmoreland Boys & Girls Club and other local nonprofits listed in the budget packet. Adams read the motions and itemized line items in the presentation to the board.

Why it matters: The vote funds county services and partner organizations without raising the county's overall tax rate, while the reduced machinery-and-tools rate responds to a specific business investment and preserves revenue. Supervisors said the budget also implements the long-delayed compensation study and will result in employee pay adjustments.

Board discussion and employee raises Board members praised staff for producing a balanced budget that preserves the tax rate while addressing capital needs. Several supervisors noted the budget implements a compensation study; the board later authorized market-based salary adjustments effective May 1 so changes would appear in the May 31 paychecks.

Other approved fiscal motions During the same session the board approved a slate of technical and programmatic items required for the fiscal year, including: adoption of the county's tax rates (with the machinery-and-tools rate at $1), adoption of Placid Bay Sanitary District user fees and Glebe Harbor/Cabin Point recreation fees for FY2026, adoption of the fiscal-year appropriation resolution, and approval of a revised county utilities fee schedule. The board also approved the Northern Neck Regional Jail's…