On April 23, 2025, at 6:00 PM in Lane Auditorium, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors held a public hearing to receive comments on the proposed Fiscal Year 2026 Operating and Capital Budget. The budget, totaling over $600 million (general fund $480.6 million), includes a 4-cent real property tax rate increase to 89.4 cents per $100 of assessed value, a personal property tax rate increase to $4.28 per $100, and no changes to food and beverage or transit occupancy taxes. The proposed budget funds public safety (six new police officers, fire rescue staffing), schools (54% of new revenues plus $1.2 million supplemental), affordable housing ($1.2 million ongoing plus $4 million one-time), community services, climate action, and economic development. The board will adopt the budget on May 7, 2025, following a separate public hearing on property tax rates on April 30.
I'm pleased to call to order this meeting of the Almoral County Board of Supervisors on the 23rd of April at 6 p.m. in Lane Auditorium. I would like to note that at the tape TS we have uh Supervisor Mike Cruitt of the Scottsville District, Supervisor B. Lapista Kirkly of the Ravana District, Supervisor Dianton McKeel of the Jack Jewett District. Supervisor Ned Galloway of the Rio District, Supervisor Ann Malik of the Whitehall District. And myself, Jim Andrews, representing the Samuel Miller District, the quorum is present. We're also joined by our county executive, Mr. Jeff Richardson, our county attorney, Mr. Andy Herrick, our clerk, Ms. Claudette Parkerson, and our senior deputy clerk, Mr. Travis Morris. Also, let me please welcome Almore County Police Officers present, Master Police Officer Dana Reeves and Lieutenant Angela Jamerson. Thank you for your service here today and every day on behalf of the citizens and presidents of Alpham Raw County for our safety and security. Our main agenda item for this evening is a public hearing to receive comments on the Board of Supervisors Fiscal Year 2026 proposed budget. But before opening the public hearing, I'm going to turn things over to Mr. Andy Bowman, our Assistant Chief Financial Officer, and Jacob Sumner, our Chief Financial Officer. Welcome. Good evening to the Chair and the Board and members of the public and thank you for the introduction. Before we open the public hearing, I have a summary of the proposed fiscal year 26 budget. I will say if you've been to one of our community town halls or if you've been to the initial uh budget work session where the county executive presented the budget, he's about 45 minutes where he's really gone in detail about everything the budget does, the investments, and why we've gotten there. Uh tonight, I'm going to be more abbreviated in my approach where I'm really going to hit the highlights. Uh, but certainly after the public hearing, if the board has questions or would like to follow up on other items, we can go into those as well. Uh so uh again, this is just a public hearing. There is no action that is being requested by the Board of Supervisors tonight. That action will occur on May 7th when the Board of Supervisors adopts and appropriates the budget. Jacob Sumner, Chief Financial Officer. Um, for the audience that may be join us today for the public hearing, we do have a one-pager uh overview of the budget that's here at the sign-up sheet. And so if uh you would like to have that as part of uh uh in your possession um as for tonight, um, that is available um at the signup sheet. Thank you. And to continue. Thanks. Thank you. Uh so I'd like to start these budget presentations about what is really the path behind us and the path ahead. Uh over the last two months, the board has invested a lot of time into this budget. Uh, this is the start of the 34th hour of a public meeting that we've had after all of our town halls and work sessions. And it is evident that the Board of Supervisors themselves invest a tremendous amount of their own time in the budget. We can see that from the depth and the breadth of their questions. We have on our website a lot of questions staff was able unable to answer on the spot, but those are all posted there for transparency. Uh tonight is a public hearing on the budget. Next week will be a public hearing on the uh property tax rates. Those are two separate hearings due to Virginia Code that requires them to be held at two separate times. And then again on May 7th, we will uh request the board to prove an appropriate budget. As I walk through the highlights of the budget and where those investments are, we're gonna orient a lot of this around the board's strategic plan that was adopted in the fall of 2022. Uh fiscal year twenty-six will be the third year of the board's strategic five-year strategic plan that runs through fiscal year twenty-eight. And uh, we've highlighted here where most of my comments tonight will be around the uh the really the three goals on the left safety and well-being, workforce and customer service, and education and learning, because those are some of the largest budget drivers uh where the new revenues are going. Uh, there's certainly uh efforts to move forward with existing funding, um, other uh actions that may uh be more uh implementing the existing plans. Uh but really those first three on the left is where a lot of the comments will be focused. Uh before we look at the expenditure side, it's appropriate that we look at the revenues. Uh the budget is balanced as required by law uh for counties of Virginia, and it is done so based on these proposed rates. The real property rate is an increase of four cents at 89.4 cents of 100 dollars in assessed value.