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Powhatan supervisors advance FY27 budget plan, adopt revised fee schedule including higher AFD application fee
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Summary
At an April 20 special meeting the Powhatan County Board of Supervisors reviewed the administrator's FY27 budget summary, debated fee changes and voted 5-0 to adopt a fee schedule that raises the AFD application fee from $100 to $200; the board also moved public comment on final adoption to next week's meeting.
Powhatan County supervisors met on April 20, 2026, for a special session to review the proposed FY27 operating budget, hear public comment and adopt a revised fee schedule that increases the Agricultural and Forestal District (AFD) application fee from $100 to $200.
The county administrator's presentation summarized combined funds of about $132,000,000 and noted the school division accounts for just under half of that total. Staff described several edits from the administrator's proposed budget to the advertised version, including $625,000 moved into the capital projects and utilities capital projects funds and a reduction in the school transfer by $750,000 to $1,900,000.
County staff said the draft RFP for a feasibility study related to the Pocahontas project is nearly ready and estimated the assessment would take roughly nine to 12 months once a contract is awarded. The board also discussed interim measures for mold concerns in occupied school spaces; staff said the RFP includes language requiring immediate identification and remediation of environmental hazards as they are discovered.
Board members pressed staff on proposed fee changes. Staff highlighted adjustments to multiple fees and called particular attention to the AFD fee increase, which staff said was intended to help offset rising legal-advertising costs. "The AFD fees [are] going from $100 to $200," staff said during the presentation. Planning staff explained that legal advertisements are charged roughly by line or word count and that adding cases or lines increases the cost of an ad; one staff member summarized: "So if I understand the fee schedule correctly, it would be $200 per application." Several supervisors questioned whether the new fee would fully cover advertising for multiple applications filed together.
A motion to adopt the published fee schedule was made during the meeting and seconded; the board took a roll-call vote and recorded five ayes. Supervisor McClung, Supervisor Powers, Miss Morissette, Vice Chair Kidding and Chairman Donati each voted in favor. The fee schedule adoption therefore passed 5-0.
On broader budget strategy, one board member emphasized the need for forward-looking funding even if it meant raising the real-estate tax rate. "We've got $79,000,000 in capital improvement projects just for schools," the member said, arguing that balancing at a lower rate would leave the county without capacity to borrow or fund future positions and projects. Staff also confirmed the advertised budget includes a planned contribution to fund balance of $1,633,341, which they said is the first time the board intentionally budgeted an end-of-year savings amount rather than relying on a closeout surplus.
Procedural note: the board voted to continue public comment on the budget to the regular meeting when the board adopts the budget next Monday to allow additional citizen remarks.
What happens next: the board will take final action on the FY27 budget at its next regular meeting, where the public will have another opportunity to speak before adoption.
