Nelson County preserves 2025 tax rates and schedules May 13 public hearing on FY26 budget

The Nelson County Board of Supervisors voted April 8 to preserve the county’s 2025 tax rates and authorized a public hearing on the FY26 budget to be held May 13 at 7 p.m. in the General District Courtroom in Lovingston.

Grace E. Mawyer, the county’s director of finance, presented the draft FY26 budget and said staff proposed keeping key tax rates at 2024 levels: real property at $0.65 per $100 of assessed value; mobile/manufactured homes $0.65; personal property $2.79; and machinery and tools $1.25. Mawyer summarized fund totals, including a General Fund of $51,088,536 and a School Fund request of $33,879,480, and reported a combined budget total of $126,595,999.

Adoption of the tax-rate resolution was included on the meeting’s consent agenda and approved by acclamation. The Board separately adopted Resolution R2025-27 to schedule the FY26 public hearing (motion by Dr. Jessica L. Ligon; seconded by J. David Parr), with a unanimous roll-call vote of 4–0.

Why it matters: scheduling the public hearing formally opens the FY26 budget for public testimony and allows the Board to consider resident input and possible adjustments before final appropriation. Supervisor Jesse N. Rutherford and others noted the possibility of reallocating recurring funds to address priorities such as school buses, and staff said any budget changes after the May 13 hearing would be publicly noticed.

What’s next: A staff presentation and public hearing are set for May 13; the Board plans to consider adoption and appropriation on June 10. The Board flagged that any intervening work sessions or amendments will be noticed to the public.