New Kent leaders to mull proposed budget at additional meeting

New Kent supervisors have elected to add an additional date for discussion on the county’s FY2016-17 budget.

As county administrator Rodney Hathaway continues to offer a variety of proposals for new revenue anticipated by the county (see page 1), county leaders have varying opinions on the tax rate proposal for next year. At its March 30 work session, the board announced an additional meeting on Apr. 13 after hearing public comments on the tax rate on Apr. 11.

“I want to see the tax rate at 83 cents,” said District 4 supervisor and chairman Ron Stiers. “I believe at that rate we can adequately fund departments.

“When we start talking about the budget, I have never heard anybody speak about cutting a penny,” he continued. “If we add a penny it’s still raising taxes. I believe placing the tax rate at 83 cents, which is our current equalized rate of 84 cents per $100 of assessed value, is the right thing to do.”

“I also want to go with the 83-cent rate,” chimed in District 5 representative Ray Davis. “I believe that we can get a lot accomplished at this rate without affecting our citizens.

“I hear from constituents in my area that the tax rate goes up, but our pension and social security remains the same,” Davis added. “If we can do what we can to save a little bit here and there, I’m all for it.”

District 3 representative Patricia Paige said that she understands the recommendation by her colleagues, but commented that increasing it by a penny will help citizens now instead of hurting them later.

“I want this board to be good stewards to all departments,” she said, holding up her tabbed budget book she deemed as her nightly reading material.

“As I look at this, I am considering all of our departments. That includes schools, the sheriff’s office, and the fire department.

“I would like to see the 84-cent rate so that we can set aside that extra penny for projects coming down the pipeline,” she continued, pointing to the need for construction of a new elementary school and a proposed fire station. “I rather have that out now than look years down the road and tell a citizen that we are going to have to raise taxes by 15-20 cents to support these projects.”

But with all the budget talk, District 1 supervisor Thomas Evelyn addressed the board members and public about recent phone calls and specific allegations made over a social media post in regards to funding schools.

“Anybody who knows me knows that I’m not very political, but I was very disturbed when I saw a post on a social media website made by a school board member about schools being cut funding,” Evelyn said.

“I have received calls about this from my constituents about why we aren’t funding schools.

“This is the first time this board has gotten together since our (Mar. 18) retreat,” he continued. “We try to meet the needs of schools financially and from hearing this my feelings were honestly hurt when I got these calls.”

The District One representative handed supervisors documentation on the board of supervisor’s funding to the schools over the previous six years.

“At our budget retreat we discussed a number of scenarios that included cutting from one department and adding to another. As you can see by this handout the board has worked with schools with their budget and even this year, our relationship with the school board has been good.

“It is not our job to tell the school board what to do with their money,” the District One leader added. “That statement (by the school board member) kind of tarnished the relationship. For those statements to be made before we addressed the issue were unfounded.”

Supervisors elected to continue discussing options at the Apr. 13 meeting.

In other action, county supervisors:

–Voted 5-0 to send a revised secondary six-year VDOT plan to public hearing. Current ongoing projects include improvements on Dispatch Road (Route 675) to fix site distance and road alignment issues and continuing the rural rustic road project on Stage Road from Polish Town Road (Route 634) to Homestead Road (Route 620). Proposed projects include using all $95,292 of projected funds from VDOT for surface paving and surface treatment of the aforementioned rural rustic road.

Another new proposal includes taking $86,000 from a project involving Henpeck Road and applying the money toward entrance improvements for the proposed Pine Fork Road Park. Hathaway said the Henpeck Road work, projected to cost almost $3 million, cannot be completed within the scope of the six-year secondary plan. The public hearing is expected to occur in April.

–Approved sending a proposed ordinance allowing golf carts and utility vehicles to be driven on public roads to a May public hearing. The proposed ordinance would allow the aforementioned vehicles to drive on public roads having posted speed limits of 25 miles per hour or less in a subdivision as designated by the county and upon approval from VDOT. The proposal would require approval from a property owner association or a majority of subdivision residents as well as an application fee of $250 paid to the county by the association or subdivision.

The proposal does not allow all-terrain vehicles (i.e. four-wheelers) to legally drive on roads.