Increase in revenue, not taxes, part of New Kent’s $64.6 million proposed budget

At a 13.1 percent growth rate over the last five years, New Kent has emerged as the fourth fastest growing county in the state of Virginia. With that information in hand, county administrator Rodney Hathaway presented a proposed budget that reflected the residential growth.

A $64,604,333 budget proposal made its way to county supervisors during Monday evening’s regular board meeting. As part of Hathaway’s recommendation, there are no tax increases in real estate (currently 83 cents per $100 of assessed value) or personal property ($3.75 per $100 of assessed value) for the upcoming fiscal year.

Projected revenues for next year are $1,302,049 more than this year’s current budget. New residences and a population increase account for a majority of the new money. Of the $1.3 million, increases of approximately $596,189 is expected from the personal property tax, $202,153 from the real estate tax, and $93,124 from the collection of delinquent taxes.

Hathaway commented during his presentation that $520,716 of that new money would be allocated towards the school set-aside fund. That amount is the equivalent of two pennies in the current tax rate and will assist in the construction of a proposed new elementary school. Other allocations include $228,821 for net personnel requests, payroll increase to accommodate four new firefighting positions ($218,421), and a contingency fund for an expected increase in employee health insurance ($115,990). Savings contributions to assist in the aforementioned allocations include departmental budget cuts ($110,112) and reductions in departmental requests ($40,673).

New Kent schools account for roughly 49 percent of the proposed county budget ($32,226,616). Of that amount, $13,754,595 is proposed by Hathaway as the locality’s contribution. At the school board’s Feb. 6 budget presentation, local funding was requested at the amount of $14,004,595, approximately $50,000 more than the county administrator’s recommendation.

New county personnel and position upgrades account for $228,821 in the new cycle. New full-time positions include a full-time economic development director, a procurement manager, a new sheriff’s deputy, and a communications officer for the sheriff’s office. Part-time positions recommend a deputy emergency management coordinator and new custodian, while two building inspectors and a payroll administrator will have their positions upgraded.

No salary increases are pegged for the new year, but health insurance rates are expected to increase for some workers. Hathaway’s budget did not include state-mandated two-percent salary increases for the Department of Social Services Director and employees, constitutional officers and the registrar/electoral board. The budget did reflect the schools’ request for a two-percent salary boost for all positions.

The public utility fund, which is self-sustaining and paid for by the users, will work on a proposed budget of $4,876,797. Water and sewer rates are expected to increase by four percent, but there will be no increases in connection and availability fees. There is also no proposed tax rate increase in the Bottoms Bridge Service District. Of that amount, $649,800 is pegged to be used on capital improvement projects, while $42,273 will be used to hire a person to occupy the job of utility locator.

Hathaway spent minimum time on the county’s Capital Improvement Plan, reiterating that the $4,503,526 recommendation made at the board’s January meeting was still in play. The county administrator added that steps are being taken to address future capital needs of the county that include the new elementary school, the addition of two fire stations, and renovations at the current schools.

After the meeting, Hathaway commented about the number of people moving into New Kent factored into the budgeting process.

“When we worked on this budget, we did take into account how fast we are growing,” he said. “While it is a good thing for the county because it will bring in revenue, it is also going to take a toll on our expenditures as well.”

Supervisors elected to reserve comments for the Feb. 16 retreat session at Providence Forge Recreation Center. A budget public hearing is tentatively scheduled for Apr. 10, but Hathaway advised county leaders that if the process moves smoothly it could accelerate the process by up to three weeks.