Smyth County officials outline FY27 budget proposals that include staff reductions, service consolidations and possible tax increases

County Administrator Shawn Utt told the Smyth County Board of Supervisors on May 14 that the county is preparing a conservative FY27 budget after revenue declines in FY26. Utt said staff proposals include eliminating eight full-time positions (attributed to employee relocation rather than layoffs), suspending the capital improvements plan, consolidating the Atkins EMS station into the Saltville EMS service area, and proposing increases to real-estate taxes, solid-waste fees and utility fees to achieve balance.

"We have proposed staffing and service changes and are recommending revenue adjustments to balance the budget," Utt said, describing an approach that combines program reductions with potential tax and fee changes.

School Board Superintendent Dr. Brad Haga presented the School Board's FY27 budget during the same meeting. He said state funding for FY27 is $47,687,680 (an increase of $581,891 from FY26), federal funding is $6,031,506 (a decrease of $566,427), and proposed salary costs are $39,971,299 to fund a 2% cost-of-living adjustment that could rise to 3–3.5% depending on the Governor's final budget. Dr. Haga said total revenues and expenditures are balanced at $70,960,572.

Dr. Haga also highlighted that 23% of Smyth County students receive special-education services and said the School Board will adopt the STAR academy to assist students with special needs and begin facility reviews (he said the last such review was believed to be in 2008). "The impact of salary increases and diesel costs is substantial," he said.

Supervisors pressed for details. Rye Valley District Supervisor Jason Parris asked when the last facility review had occurred; Dr. Haga said the county's schools had not been comprehensively reviewed since about 2008 and new reviews will include population, structural and operational analyses. Saltville District Supervisor Roscoe Call asked whether the School Board anticipated resignations and retirements; Dr. Haga said there have been a few and the district is tightly budgeting and will not necessarily fill vacancies.

The county presentation also described a plan to eliminate the Atkins EMS station and combine its service area and staff with Saltville EMS. Utt said the change, among other reductions, is part of efforts to reduce operating costs while maintaining essential service through consolidation.

Citizens raised related concerns during Citizen's Time. Dr. Charles Wassum voiced worries about unpaid taxes, county debt-service interest, and objections to data-center projects that he said could affect privacy and agricultural land. Chair Charlie Atkins replied that a change in debt-payment practices saved approximately $120,000 in interest payments.

No formal vote on the FY27 county budget occurred at the meeting; staff said the proposals will move through additional review and public meetings. The Board recorded motions and votes on separate agenda items during the session but took no final action adopting the county budget on May 14.