Nelson County holds public hearing on $49.5 million FY25 budget as schools take largest share

Nelson County officials presented the proposed FY2024-25 budget at a continued Board of Supervisors meeting on June 4, 2024, in Lovingston. Linda K. Staton, the County’s director of finance and human resources, said the advertised budget is balanced at $49,530,187 and is based on information available at the time of the public hearing; she cautioned that state budget decisions could alter the final General Fund and School Division totals.

The budget relies heavily on local revenue, which staff projected at $39,668,527 or about 80.1% of total revenues. Staton detailed tax rates that remain unchanged from 2022 — a $0.65 per $100 real estate and mobile home rate, $2.79 for tangible personal property and $1.25 for machinery and tools — and noted that the Board approved a Transient Occupancy Tax increase from 5% to 7% effective July 1, 2024, which is expected to yield roughly $468,000 more than FY24.

Education is the largest expenditure in the proposed General Fund, at roughly 39% or $19.16 million (including a PVCC allocation and $838,263 in school-related debt service). Staton said the FY25 School Fund totals $32,365,576 with projected enrollment of 1,430 students, producing a projected total cost per pupil of $22,633 and a local per-pupil figure of $13,395. The budget includes funding for four School Resource Officers at approximately $313,915, with $92,621 expected from a state grant; the remaining SRO cost is county-funded.

The FY25 capital program includes initial A&E funding for two major projects: $2,456,071 for the Nelson County High School renovation (the overall project estimated at about $25 million) and $1,656,071 for a Department of Social Services facility (total project estimate about $9.5 million). Staff also noted the Broadband Authority will dissolve June 30, 2024, and broadband operations will transition to the Board as an enterprise fund on July 1.

Staton summarized revenue changes that affect the budget: modest increases in real estate revenue tied to new construction and values, expected declines in public service and personal property taxes driven by lower valuations, a large drop in Other Categorical State Aid and a reduction in federal categorical aid tied to ARPA carryover funds. Contingency reserves of $1,275,432 are included, and the County plans a $350,000 transfer to Piney River Water & Sewer for a pump station replacement.

During the public hearing, Margaret Clair, director of the Nelson County Community Development Foundation and the Central District representative on the School Board (speaking as a constituent), urged the Board to "dig into funds and see where they could find more money to support the schools," saying the Local Composite Index increases local obligations and that "the Schools were the community." Resident Jeri Lloyd praised the county’s proposed 3% pay increase for employees as "really phenomenal," and asked staff for clarifications about revenue declines, lodging business licensing, the permanence of a proposed Assistant Director of Special Projects position, and how the SRO grant percentage was calculated. Philip Purvis questioned the per-student spending compared with private schools and raised concerns about long-term sustainability. William Pearcy asked the Board to direct staff to seek additional bids on proposed school speed-zone systems.

Staton closed the presentation by reminding the Board that, per State Code, it must wait a minimum of seven days following the public hearing before adopting the budget; she said the Board could adopt the FY25 budget as early as its regular meeting on June 11, 2024. No formal vote on the budget occurred at the June 4 meeting. The meeting adjourned at 7:53 p.m. following a motion by Supervisor Jesse N. Rutherford and a second by Dr. Jessica L. Ligon, approved by acclamation.

The Board provided handouts with additional fund-level detail and encouraged members of the public to request further information from County staff.