Board hears public hearing on new local tax-exemption ordinance for charities; action delayed two weeks

County staff presented a draft ordinance intended to let King George County consider tax exemptions for qualifying charitable organizations under Virginia law.

Mr. Stewart, speaking for county staff, said the proposal follows Article X, subsection 6(a) of the Virginia Constitution and sets out eight statutory factors the board must apply when deciding whether to exempt an organization’s real and personal property. "They would apply for that, the board would have to look at that and determine if, in fact, they qualify pursuant to these factors," Stewart said.

Representatives of two local nonprofits described their work and said a tax exemption for personal property would free funds for services. A presenter for the 5:16 Project (a local nonprofit that provides home repairs and disaster-response services) said the organization operates trucks, trailers and some heavy equipment, and that reducing that tax burden would allow the group to serve more residents. "Being able to have the tax exemption allows us to be able to serve more people, because it saves us those dollars from being able to pay into the county, that we can then in turn be able to serve the county," the 5:16 representative said.

Love Thy Neighbor (a local food- and logistics-focused nonprofit) told the board its only current taxable asset in King George is a refrigerated van and said it expects to acquire property later. Volunteer Sheila Burns, who has worked with the 5:16 Project for years, urged the board to approve personal-property exemptions and said the county would receive broader benefits: "I feel that the county reaps a much larger benefit than that $10,000 in which the organization gives back to the county and its residents," Burns said.

Board members pressed staff and applicants on practical limits. Several supervisors said they were comfortable the program could be limited to personal property rather than any future real estate and asked whether exemptions could be revoked if an organization’s activities changed. County counsel and staff said the board would adopt the ordinance first, then review specific applications and apply the statutory factors; they also said exemptions could be revoked if circumstances changed.

Rather than vote on the ordinance tonight, several board members said they wanted two weeks to receive additional documentation and allow more public comment. Supervisor Sullins said on the surface he was inclined to favor the ordinance but wanted more time; the board closed the public hearing and set the item for further action at the next meeting.