Surry County manager proposes $111.8 million budget, recommends $0.513 tax rate

County Manager Chris Knopf presented the Surry County recommended budget for fiscal year 2026–27 at the Board meeting on May 18, 2026. The recommended total is $111,841,573 and a tax rate recommendation of $0.513 was included (the 2025 revenue-neutral rate was $0.496).

Knopf told the Board the recommendation accounts for changes in Medicaid reimbursements across departments, requests for vehicles and equipment for public safety, and increases in the county's share required for the Department of Social Services and Public Health. The recommended allocation to Surry Community College totaled $3,516,000; funding for public schools is recommended at $1,335 per student for current expense and $339 per student for capital.

Knopf reviewed enterprise funds covering landfill/recycling and the Mount Airy–Surry County Airport and noted that both Elkin City Schools and Mount Airy City Schools had requested tax increases for their supplemental taxing districts. Fee-schedule changes for Inspections, Emergency Services and Public Works were included in the recommended budget. The Board was told a public hearing on the budget will be held June 1, 2026, and a budget work session scheduled for June 2, 2026.

Commissioners thanked staff for preparing the recommended budget; no final adoption took place at the May 18 meeting.