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Gloucester supervisors vote to advertise possible tax increases; public hearings scheduled
Summary
After weeks of budget discussion, the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors voted to advertise a package of potential revenue changes — including an increased real‑estate levy cap, a 2% meals-tax increase, a per‑cigarette stamp rate and a $1 boat tax among advertised options — and to hold public hearings on the measures.
The Gloucester County Board of Supervisors voted to advertise a set of potential tax and fee changes the board could adopt as part of next year’s budget process. Staff presented a menu of revenue options and the board authorized public advertisement of those options and the required public hearings.
Items the board directed staff to advertise include: a maximum real‑estate levy option (advertised cap used for public notice purposes), a potential 2 percentage‑point increase to the meals tax, a county cigarette stamp (the transcript cites the Commonwealth’s format: an equivalent of two cents per cigarette as the local cap), a $1 boat tax option, and a modest increase to the personal property rate presented for advertisement. County staff and counsel discussed the mechanics of some options (for example, whether a boat fee is permitted for counties or whether a boat tax is the allowable mechanism) and noted that certain details would be refined before final adoption.
Board members debated whether to place the burden primarily on real‑estate taxpayers or to spread it across multiple revenue sources; the board’s motion to advertise the full set of options passed and will allow the public to comment at scheduled hearings. Staff emphasized that advertising an option does not commit the board to adopt it; it simply permits a required public‑notice process and gives the board flexibility to select any combination of levies and rates before final adoption.
Next steps: staff will publish the advertised rates and set public‑hearing dates; the county will then hold hearings, take public comment, and adopt final levies after considering the school board’s refined funding request and any offsets the supervisors propose.
