Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Amherst County presents FY26 budget and two funding proposals to cover a 3% COLA; board directs departments to revisit requests
Summary
County staff outlined modest revenue growth, major expenditure drivers (insurance, public safety, technology) and two one-time funding options to cover a proposed 3% employee cost-of-living adjustment; the board asked departments to return budgets near prior-year levels and asked staff to return with refined figures at the March 12 workshop.
County staff presented the Amherst County Board of Supervisors with FY26 revenue projections, operating-budget drivers and options for funding a possible 3% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) during a budget workshop.
Why it matters: staff said modest revenue growth and rising operating costs leave limited discretionary funds. The board must decide whether to use one-time resources, reduce or reprioritize recurring requests, or increase revenues to preserve employee compensation and county services.
Revenue and tax context: staff projected real estate tax revenue assuming 1.5% incremental growth and estimated operating-revenue growth of roughly $1.5 million from FY25 to FY26 (excluding supplemental or CIP requests). Staff reported the county27s real-estate tax at about $0.61 per $100 of assessed value and said one penny increase on the rate would raise about $252,049 for the county.
Key cost drivers: presenters highlighted health insurance (consultant estimates for insurance renewals were…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
