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Lunenburg County supervisors approve real estate and personal property tax hikes
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Summary
After a public hearing, the Lunenburg County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously (one member absent) to raise the real estate tax from $0.33 to $0.37 per $100 valuation and the personal property tax from $3.80 to $4.05 per $100, effective Jan. 1, 2026.
Lunenburg County Administrator Tracy M. Gee told the Board during a public hearing on Jan. 8 that the county proposes raising the real estate tax from $0.33 to $0.37 per $100 of assessed value and the personal property tax from $3.80 to $4.05 per $100, both effective Jan. 1, 2026.
Gee said the proposed real estate rate would reflect about a 12% increase in real estate levies and could generate approximately $535,000 in additional collections per year; the proposed personal property rate would reflect about a 6.7% increase, or roughly $293,000 in additional annual collections. She said that because Lunenburg collects semiannually (June 5 and Dec. 5), the county estimates FY26 cash receipts could increase by up to $414,000 depending on collection timing.
The Board opened the hearing to public comment; residents Jeff Burgess and Curtis Flemming spoke against the increase. After the hearing, Supervisor T. Wayne Hoover moved to approve the proposed rates, Supervisor Frank W. Bacon seconded, and the motion passed on a roll-call vote with all voting yes and Supervisor Robert Zava absent.
Why it matters: Board members and staff said the county’s assessments have lagged market values; data cited by administration showed assessments at roughly 67.59% of sales value per the Virginia Department of Taxation’s March 2025 sales ratio study. County officials framed the increase as a step to align revenue with assessment realities and to shore up local services and budgets.
What to watch next: The new rates are effective for Calendar Year 2026 (Jan. 1–Dec. 31, 2026). The Board approved the change as an ordinance-level action at the Jan. 8 session; any further procedural steps (advertisement or formal ordinance language) were not detailed in the meeting record.
Quotation: "The proposed real estate tax rate reflects a 12% increase in real estate tax levies, or approximately $535,000 in possible additional collections per tax year," Administrator Gee said during the hearing.
This vote was recorded as a formal roll-call motion (moved by Hoover, seconded by Bacon) and passed unanimously among members present.