Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Fy2027 Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Powhatan County presents FY2027 budget outline, flags 77-cent tax rate option
Summary
County Administrator Will Hagy presented a proposed FY2027 budget with a $90.4 million general fund and $174.6 million in total funds, outlined a possible 77-cent tax-rate scenario and proposed a $33.5 million transfer to schools while board and public raised concerns about cost growth and program priorities.
Powhatan County Administrator Will Hagy presented the county’s proposed FY2027 budget at a March 5 workshop, saying the proposed general fund is $90.4 million and total funds are $174.6 million as the board considers tax-rate and capital-plan options for the coming decade.
Hagy framed the budget around four themes: maintaining competitive pay with neighboring localities, building a realistic 10-year capital improvements program (CIP), reducing reliance on debt, and aligning spending with the board’s strategic plan. “The proposed total general fund is $90.4 million, and the total of all funds is $174.6 million,” Hagy said during the presentation.
The presentation included a revenue breakdown showing the county’s projected taxable assessment for FY27 at $7.02 billion and noted that real estate taxes make up about two-thirds of total revenue. Hagy said projected changes include higher real estate and sales tax collections and a projected decrease in personal property tax, with interfund transfers estimated at $42,963,041 and total revenue net transfers at $131.6 million.
Board members asked whether a proposed 77-cent tax rate would cover pay, benefits and the proposed CIP. Hagy said the rate would cover compensation and planned improvements and that further detail on the CIP would be provided in subsequent workshops. Budget Manager Will Morris clarified that a reported 11.1% figure combines assessment growth and a proposed 2-cent rate adjustment, explaining that assessments are projected to grow roughly 7–8% with an additional approximate 3–4% impact from the rate adjustment.
The proposed expenditures highlighted school support ($33.5 million), public safety ($15.1 million) and debt service ($10.3 million). County staff outlined compensation items including a comp/class adjustment of $855,654, a 3% salary increase estimated at $580,572, retiree leave payouts of $93,790, a VRS rate reduction saving $229,123 and an approximate 10.5% health-insurance increase estimated at $294,984.
Hagy also described proposed staffing and operating changes: new EMS and public-safety communications roles, a Public Information Officer, and additional library and recreation staff. Hagy said most of those costs are expected to be offset by state funding or program revenues; he gave the example that added library staffing would increase local cost by roughly $9,000 after state support.
Public commenters urged restraint. Runit Mazdar of the Brooklyn Estates Homeowners Association urged the board and schools to “consider living within its means” and questioned adding public-facing positions before filling EMS staffing needs. Mike Oliver said the county’s 77-cent tax rate “is high” and recommended gradual approaches to rate increases while warning that pilot programs often become permanent.
Next steps: the board scheduled related workshops on March 11 (school board), March 12 (departmental and personnel), March 16 (CIP and tax-rate discussion) and a target of March 26 to decide to advertise the budget.
