New Kent’s adopted budget contains one-cent increase; courthouse project gets go-ahead from county leaders

New Kent’s FY2025-26 budget will only have a one-cent tax increase after Tuesday morning discussion by county leaders.

New Kent’s Board of Supervisors approved a tax-rate of 60 cents per $100 of assessed value on real estate as part of its $136,543,336 adopted budget during the work session.

For the past few months, New Kent’s Board of Supervisors have received pitches from New Kent County Administrator Rodney Hathaway about the possibility of raising taxes to fund future Capital Improvement Projects (CIPs). The two major projects that were part of the original three-cent proposal were the construction of a new elementary school and the construction of a new courthouse.

During Tuesday morning instruction, District 1 representative and board chairman Thomas Evelyn expressed concerns about two projects that would take the county out of compliance with a report given by Davenport and Company’s financial advisory services that was made at the board’s regular meeting. District 4 representative Ron Stiers also commented on his issues with raising taxes.

“We have to start to put the foot on the brake,” he commented. “We have tons of revenue coming into the county and I don’t want to put these projects on the back of citizens. That’s my goal.”

Discussion among board members about the projects continued to divulge on funding them without the major tax increase. District 5 leader Jordan Stewart spoke on her supporting the schools, while District 3 representative Amy Pearson spoke on the importance of public safety and the need of the courthouse. Pearson favored seeing renovations at a school prior to constructing a new one. District 2 leader John Moyer agreed with Pearson in supporting renovations, stating how seniors use the facility for several activities.

Hathaway commented that there will be no borrowing of funds in the upcoming fiscal year, with one of the alternative plans to use funds from Colonial Downs revenue to serve as a down payment on one of the projects. Board members then passed a resolution, supporting the construction of a new courthouse as the project to focus on.

With the two-cent tax decrease, the overall proposed budget now is pegged at $136,543,336. Capital Improvement Projects for the county came in at $22,668,360, with one of the major shifts being not funding the building of Fire Station 2 in Quinton in the upcoming cycle. However, approximately $1 million has been allocated for land purchase and preliminary engineering for the station’s future. The project is expected to cost $5.1 million.

The public utility fund, which is self-funded, comes in at $10,188,643. That number defers capital projects and reduces the overall amount by $7 million.
Water and sewage fees for the county’s utility budget will increase by four percent in the upcoming fiscal year.