New Kent leaders to ponder three-cent tax increase for CIP, FY2025-26 budget

New Kent’s Board of Supervisors are considering a three-cent real estate tax increase as they continue to piddle through a proposed budget.

After meeting at a March work session and receiving information, New Kent County leaders reheard a recommendation from New Kent County Administrator Rodney Hathaway of 62 cents per $100 of assessed value on real estate as part of Monday’s public hearing on tax levies.

The idea of a tax increase has floated around for the last month-and-a-half as Hathaway commented about two major Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) projects that are in the future timeline. One plan calls for the replacement of New Kent Elementary School, while the second calls for a new courthouse. In total, those projects carry a price tag of $130 million combined.

At Monday’s public hearing, Hathaway commented that the three-cent increase would generate $1.62 million in new money for the county, bringing the proposed budget close to $133 million total. However, the county has not received final figures yet to advertise the budget as Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin has not given his final approval at this time on allocations to localities.

Hathaway said that one penny of the increase would be dedicated to public safety, and the two other pennies will be designated to cover annual debt services to the new projects. If the new projects are approved, the estimate annual debt would be $8.7 million per year.

“Even wit the proposal [of the tax increase], we are still the second lowest compared to our neighboring counties,” Hathaway commented. “This is just a proposal, and we plan to dive deeper into these projects at our April work session (on Apr. 28).”

During the public hearing, Elizabeth Jarvis was the only individual to speak on the issue, commenting on how the tax increase hurts her farm.

“We just had a reappraisal,” she said. All we do is pay taxes and this tax raise will put us out of our home.

“I’m 85 years old and one penny counts a lot against us when you’re this old,” Jarvis added. “Right now, we are getting to the point where we (older generation) can’t afford it.”

By law, no action can be taken on the proposal for a minimum of 10 days on the tax increase proposal. However, county leaders are not expected to act on levies or the budget until their May work session.