New Kent leaders adopt $75 million budget for FY2020-21

By Andre Jones | May 27, 2020 9:33 am

New Kent County’s Board of Supervisors adopted $75 million budget for FY2020-21 during Wednesday morning’s work session.

County leaders approved the budget with a 5-0 vote, passing the $75,062,698 budget unanimously after County Administrator Rodney Hathaway provided a recap on the budget.

Originally, Hathaway presented a budget of $76 million in early March. But with the impact of COVID-19 being felt throughout the county, Hathaway expects the economy to take a two-percent drop. That drop in expected revenue totals $738,327.

Hathaway also proposed reducing the real estate tax rate. While originally pegged at 82 cents per $100 of assessed value, the county administrator recommended reducing it to 79 cents per $100 of assessed value. While this number is down, it is essentially a three-cent tax increase as the equalized rate is 76 cents per $100 of assessed values.

Hathaway’s recommended proposed cuts from his original budget include eliminating three positions from the sheriff’s office ($189,133), delaying the hiring or an assistant chief technology officer ($57,857), reductions in county departments ($67,615), providing schools with level funding for the upcoming year, eliminating the hiring of a part-time safety coordinator, and the hiring of a part-time permit technician.

“Things are still changing, and I could potentially come back to you during the fiscal year,” said Hathaway when asked by District 5 representative John Lockwood the impact of the budget if revenue is loss.

The public utility fund will be $5,806,413. The self-sustaining fund includes no increase to the water and sewer rate, no increase in the connection and availability fees, and a reduction in the Bottoms Bridge Service District Tax Rate by two cents (from 15 cents to 13 cents).

New Kent County Schools will receive $36,218,816, which is a reduction of $206,776 less than advertised. The reduction was due to cuts due to the cuts in the state’s funding. The schools were originally slated to receive an additional $200,000 from the county, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that figure was removed.

The Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) comes in at $3,155,169 for county projects. Of that amount, $1,454,000 is allocated to schools. Currently, construction of a new elementary school for the county has been delayed due to the pandemic.