Proposed $65 million NK budget lists 1-cent tax decrease
New Kent’s Board of Supervisors is in the process of studying a proposed county budget of just over $65 million for the next fiscal year (2014-15).
With number crunching done ahead of schedule, county administrator Rodney Hathaway delivered packets containing the proposed document to board members at their March 10 meeting. A formal presentation of the proposed budget is scheduled for the board’s next regular meeting on April 10.
Hathaway’s proposed budget totals $65,241,278 for the upcoming cycle, and is about $1.3 million lower than the $66.5 million budget approved last May for the current fiscal year.
According to information in the packet, the county’s real estate tax rate is proposed to drop one cent from 85 to 84 cents per $100 of assessed value. If the one-cent decrease meets with approval, a homeowner whose property is assessed at $150,000, for example, would receive a tax bill next year that is $15 lower than for the current year. The owner of property valued at $250,000 would witness a $25 decrease.
Despite the drop, the county is expected to garner additional revenue totaling $937,609 from real estate collections. No personal property tax rate adjustments are proposed.
Other additional revenue streams over and above the current year and anticipated for 2014-15, according to the proposal, are personal property tax ($2,986), sales tax ($78,282), local recordation ($18,340), meals tax ($40,178), permit and license revenues ($65,210), and off-track betting.
Public utility (water and sewer) rates are proposed to increase by six percent in response to an analysis performed by the county’s financial advisors, but there is no increase slated for connection and availability fees.
Bottoms Bridge Service District “ad valorem” taxes are proposed to increase from 10 cents to 15 cents per $100 of assessed value, with the increase aimed at bringing the county into compliance with terms of its original service agreement.
Under Hathaway’s proposal, schools are slated to receive $28,511,069 in total funding for 2014-15. Of that amount, $13,104,595 makes up the county’s contribution, an increase of $570,000 compared to this year’s local amount.
New Kent’s School Board, meanwhile, is proposing a $28.7 million budget and held a public hearing on their proposal Wednesday (see story elsewhere in this edition). Hathaway’s proposed budget also includes close to $12 million in capital improvement projects for next year. Topping the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) list is $5 million for renovating the county’s Historic School in order to convert the facility into an elementary school.
The administrator proposes to use close to $3.5 million of the county’s $7 million in cash on hand for funding part of the CIP list. Approval of all projects by the Board of Supervisors would require the county to borrow $9.3 million. Over $4 million of the proposed CIP price tag would be paid for through federal and state grants along with proffers.
The county’s Planning Commission, held a public hearing Monday night on the CIP (see related story in this edition).
Other highlights in Hathaway’s budget proposal include a 7.2 percent increase in health insurance rates, addition of three new full-time employee positions and one part-time ($389,382), transfer of $96,348 to the debt service fund, $482,508 in funds to use for debt service relative to the renovation of the Historic School, and a general fund total increase of $1,045,239.
Supervisors are expected to review Hathaway’s proposed budget over the next two months, providing input and suggestions during work sessions. A public hearing on a final proposed budget is tentatively scheduled for the board’s regular meeting in May.