Salem City Council sets FY2027 tax rates, approves school budget and advances appropriation ordinances on first reading

Salem City Council on May 11 adopted a set of tax rates for Fiscal Year 2027 and moved forward with the city and school budgets.

Finance Director Rosie Jordan told the council that, under the Code of Virginia, a reassessment increase above 1% requires a public hearing on the effective tax rate; Salem’s reassessment rose 8.74 percent. Council adopted Resolution 1527 setting the real‑estate tax rate at $1.16 per $100 of assessed value (a two‑cent reduction from the prior year), the personal‑property rate at $3.40 per $100 and the machinery‑and‑tools rate at $3.20 per $100. No members of the public spoke at the required hearing.

The council also adopted Resolution 1528 approving the Salem City Schools budget for FY2027. The School Division’s total appropriations for the coming year are $71,081,235, a figure the School Board approved and later amended before forwarding to the council for final approval.

Councilors then voted to adopt, on first reading, three appropriation ordinances required by the budget process: the FY2027 operating budget (including the schematic list of positions and the proposed pay scale), the FY2027 capital budget (appropriating $5,472,000) and the FY2027 school appropriations. Finance Director Jordan reviewed edits and budget revisions made since the work sessions, covering changes in the General Fund, Water, Sewer and Electric enterprise funds and the Capital Improvement Plan.

All measures on the tax rates, resolutions and first‑reading ordinances passed with votes recorded as Ayes: Hunter Holliday, Randy Foley, Anne Marie Green and Renée Turk; Absent: John Saunders; Nays: None; Abstaining: None.

The council must complete any required second readings and formally adopt appropriation ordinances prior to July 1, 2026, to meet the City Charter’s deadline for FY2027 budget adoption.