Greensville County holds public hearing on proposed 55¢ real property tax rate

The Greensville County Board of Supervisors held a public hearing June 1 on a proposed 55¢ per $100 real-property tax rate that county staff said would generate revenue to support the FY2027 budget.

County staff told supervisors the total assessed value of real property — excluding new-construction adjustments — "exceeds last year's total assessed value of real property by approximately 61.53%," and that the lower rate that would levy the same total tax as last year would be 41¢ per $100 of assessed value. Staff characterized the proposed 55¢ rate as an effective increase of 14¢ per $100, or roughly 34% higher than the lower, revenue-neutral rate. Staff also said the proposed budget would exceed last year's by about 3.5%.

The presentation compared Greensville's proposed rate with neighboring localities in the county's "Crater region," noting some nearby jurisdictions' rates and attributing lower rates elsewhere in part to large taxable facilities. A staff presenter also explained that personal property rates for machinery and tools would remain unchanged.

During the public hearing, Tom Slippy, the single sign-up speaker, said residents deserve to know what they were getting for the proposed change: "I understand the explanation that this allows us to not only be competitive perhaps but lower than the other people in this district. But my question would be what are we getting for that?" The board reminded citizens that questions asked during the public hearing would be noted and responded to by staff outside the hearing if appropriate.

No tax rate was adopted at the June 1 meeting. County staff stated the tax-rate adoption will be handled as part of the FY2027 budget adoption meeting scheduled for Wednesday, June 17 at 10:00 a.m. in the Greensville County government building.