New Kent leaders, county staff continue to work through proposed FY2026-27 budget

New Kent’s Board of Supervisors continue to filter through the process of a budget for the next fiscal year.

Tuesday morning’s work session provided a recap of the proposed $277,428,161 figure for the FY2026-2027 year. The high dollar amount is the result of two major projects proposed in the county’s CIP (Capital Improvement Plan) for next year; the construction of a new courthouse and the construction of a new elementary school.

Originally, the proposed real estate tax rate was slated at 59 cents per $100 of assessed value. That number is the equivalent of a five-cent tax hike over the equalized rate of 54 cents. However, New Kent County Administrator Rodney Hathaway and county staff have been working with numbers, now proposing a budget with a four-cent tax increase at the current moment.

The work session’s budget discussion centered around decompressing the salary scale for many of the county employees. Hathaway said that there is roughly $147,000 extra in the contingency fund (which is required to have $300,000 under county policy) and that money could be used to alleviate decompression. The county administrator added that the proposed scale would be applied based on years of tenure. Hathaway also commented that the decompression scale would not apply to constitutional officers, public safety personnel (who underwent a decompression in the current fiscal year), and the social services department as the state passes bills for their increases. District 5 representative Jordan Stewart commented that she’d like for the social services department to be considered in the scale as they serve the same population in the county as other county personnel.

Along with the courthouse and new school, the Wahrani Center project is still listed as a CIP project. No comments were made about its inclusion or exclusion for the upcoming budget.

A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for May 11, with an expected adoption on May 26. In other matters addressed by county leaders:

–Announced the hiring of Benny Zheng as the new county attorney.

–Approved a transfer of $1.8 million from the Colonial Downs Future Capital Appropriations Line Item to the Fire Apparatus Line Item. The move was made at the request of New Kent Fire Chief Rick Opett who indicated the need for new apparatuses after recent breakdowns, the long delays in new orders, and fleet shortages. The money will be used to purchase two fire fleet vehicles.