Prince George supervisors keep tax rate at 82¢, set $1.2M school transfer and greenlight personnel priorities in FY2026 budget consensus

The Prince George County Board of Supervisors signaled unanimous operational priorities March 4 as staff prepared the county's proposed FY2026 budget: hold the real estate tax rate at $0.82 per $100 of assessed value, transfer $1.2 million to the school division, eliminate a planned contribution to the debt reserve and advance funding for a slate of public-safety and county positions for inclusion in the introduced budget.

Finance Director and Deputy County Administrator Meredith Jury told the board staff will use member feedback to assemble the introduced budget for presentation March 11 and that the board’s current consensus will be reflected in that document. “We spend a lot of time focusing on our general fund budget, because that is the budget where our tax dollars go to work,” Jury said.

Why it matters: holding the tax rate preserves current millage for taxpayers while allocating additional dollars to schools and public safety. The choice reduces the county’s ability to add to debt reserves for FY2026 (the staff-calculated amount available by not contributing to debt reserves is $611,686) but funds recurring personnel and benefit commitments prioritized by board members.

Key budget staff and board priorities discussed - School funding: Three supervisors (Brown, Womack and Webb) indicated support for a $1.2 million increase in the county transfer to the school division; two supervisors (Cox and Pugh) favored a $750,000 increase. Staff reported the superintendent had requested a larger local increase; the board’s consensus the night of March 4 was $1.2 million. - Debt reserve: Board feedback was to eliminate the FY2026 contribution to debt reserves; staff estimated that change frees $611,686 for reallocation. - Personnel: By consensus the board prioritized funding, to be included in the introduced budget, for the following positions or reclassifications: an environmental program specialist and a senior planner in planning; a deputy fire chief; a training captain; eight firefighter/medics (with two additional staff positioned across four stations to improve coverage); one administrative support specialist in county operations; three administrative support positions in fire/EMS; a kennel attendant; and one social services benefit program manager (net county cost shown in staff materials as $43,793 when offsetting revenues are considered). Staff also proposed several reclassifications, including making a part-time regular county attorney position full time (a 0.5 FTE net increase) and converting a Sixth Circuit law clerk to a staff attorney with the county acting as fiscal agent (this change would require approval from other Sixth Circuit localities).

Non-general-fund items and other revenue items - Economic development and tourism: The economic development fund is principally supported by meals tax revenue. Staff said a machinery-and-tools tax rebate for a major industry expansion will require a general-fund transfer; the rebate amount included in the introduced budget is $632,000, with machinery-and-tools tax revenue projected to increase by about $223,000 and $183,650 of that increase needed to support the rebate. Staff also identified a possible new transfer to Petersburg Area Transit of $26,400 and noted lodging-tax proceeds (maximum 2% to the general fund, remainder staying in the tourism special revenue fund) support local heritage and tourism partners. - Utilities and stormwater: The stormwater fee was previously eliminated; stormwater debt has been fully repaid and the stormwater special-revenue budget will be removed for FY2026, though unspent bond proceeds and some prior-year fee balance may be appropriated later to complete awarded projects (staff identified Cedar Creek Reach 2 and Reach 5 corrective-action projects currently working through DEQ and U.S. Army Corps coordination). Utilities staff proposed a 3% increase in water rates and a 1% increase in sewer rates and recommended increases to minimum user charges, connection fees and some block rates; staff estimated the utilities operating and capital budget would increase $463,661 (3.2%). Staff projected a typical bimonthly 10,000-gallon residential customer would pay about $5.08 more per billing cycle (about $30 per year) under the full set of proposed water adjustments; the proposed flat sewer increase would raise a typical bill by about $1.50 per cycle (about $9 per year). Staff said they will seek authority to advertise a public hearing on utility rate and connection-fee changes on March 25 with the public hearing planned for April 22 (the same date as the tax-rate hearing).

Capital and debt notes - Capital transfer requests include $140,155 for fire/EMS apparatus and a general-fund transfer of $335,000 for fire/EMS equipment; staff described the school division’s request for an additional $81,846 to buy four buses and a county request for $50,000 more for vehicle replacement. - Staff reported an overall potential net debt-fund reduction tied to a fully repaid stormwater debt and a slight reduction in an economic-development-supported cross point debt; staff presented scenarios where the net reduction ranged from roughly $441,950 up to over $1,000,000 depending on whether the board contributes to debt reserves.

Federal and state funding risks Staff flagged uncertainty in federal funding that could affect local programs, including potential changes to Medicaid and federal education and Department of Defense impact-aid that together account for several million dollars in school and social-services funding. Jury warned loss of U.S. Department of Education or Department of Defense pass-through funds used by the school division could significantly affect local budgets.

Votes at a glance - Motion to authorize Board member Cox to participate electronically because of a medical issue: approved by roll call (Yes: Brown, Womack, Pugh, Webb, Cox). The meeting record does not show a named mover/second for that motion; roll-call approvals were recorded. - Motion to adopt the meeting agenda: moved by Mr. Pugh, seconded by Mrs. Womack; approved by roll call. - Motion to adjourn: moved by Mr. Webb, seconded by Mr. Pugh; approved by roll call.

What’s next Staff will prepare the introduced FY2026 budget reflecting the board’s consensus for presentation March 11. Staff said it will seek authority to advertise the utility-rate public hearing on March 25 and hold that hearing April 22 alongside the tax-rate hearing. Additional budget work sessions and public hearings will follow the introduced budget.

Ending County staff and board members emphasized the work session was a starting point to frame the introduced budget; several supervisors noted the spreadsheet presented that night was intended to provide common ground for the county administrator’s introduced proposal and additional adjustments can be made during subsequent public sessions.