No speakers address New Kent’s proposed $277 million budget

There were no speakers on New Kent County’s budget at the regular board meeting Monday night.

New Kent leaders received zero feedback from the public on the county’s $277,428,161 budget. The budget includes a four-cent tax increase on the real estate rate, which is slated at 58 cents per $100 of assessed value.

New Kent’s proposed FY2026-27 budget increase is centered around a pair of Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) projects. The construction of a new elementary school carries a price tag of $60 million, while the construction of a new courthouse along with the renovation of the old courthouse to convert them to administration offices is budgeted at $70 million.

New Kent County schools are projected to receive $52,468,218 in funding. New hires include three new fire and rescue EMS supervisors. Another big CIP project is the construction of Fire Station 2 in Quinton, which is tabbed at $6.442 million.

Board members are expected to act on the budget at the May work session. In other board actions conducted Monday night:

–Pulled appropriating $14,000 from the Central Virginia Transportation Authority Fun for the purchase of gravel for Piney Slope Lane from the consent agenda for further discussion. Supervisors express concerns about spending county money to help pay for materials for maintaining a private road.

–Approved a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for the operations of an assembly hall/event venue on Polish Town Road for William Felts, with the only amendment to the CUP being a three-year expiration date of the CUP.

–Denied a CUP for the operation of a campground as a home operation on Old Roxbury Road by Katrina and Jason Whitehead. Supervisors acknowledged the good intentions by the applicants for the campground but expressed concerns about the size of the land along with neighboring properties that are used for hunting.