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Spotsylvania County supervisors have come up with a budget that avoids raising real-estate taxes next year while increasing spending in several key areas.
Board members tentatively agreed during a recent work session on a tax rate that offsets recent property reassessments, which saw values jump an average of 20 percent.
The rate of 86 cents per $100 of assessed value would help finance a $330 million budget without increasing the average Spotsylvanian's tax burden.
"I think the priority of the board was to have a quality budget--first and foremost--and then to see how we might best fund it and see if we could maintain the equalized tax rate," Board Chairman Bob Hagan said.
"Through a series of discussions and compromises, we were able to achieve an increase for the schools, full funding of the programs recommended by our county administrator and still maintain a level tax rate."
County Administrator Randy Wheeler initially proposed a 96-cent tax rate, which he subsequently knocked down to 93 cents. But several supervisors still expressed discomfort.
"We have to live within our means," Supervisor Hap Connors said recently.
The plan now under consideration avoids a tax increase through a combination of $2.9 million in unexpected additional revenue and various cost savings. Among the savings is a $900,000 state-authorized reduction in contributions to the Virginia Retirement System for county teachers.
The proposal includes money for more deputies to patrol residents' neighborhoods, more firefighter/medics to respond to emergencies and the opening of a new high school.
The board will meet at 3 p.m. tomorrow to decide on last-minute budget additions and may approve the spending plan. Hagan says even if all of issues aren't settled this week, a budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 will be in place by the end of the month.
The board's top spending priorities are education and public safety.
The proposed budget includes a $7.1 million boost in local funding for schools, as well as a projected $2.4 million increase in state funding. A portion of those monies will finance the opening this fall of the Riverbend High School.
The Sheriff's Office is slated for a $1.3 million increase this year, much of that to hire 10 new officers. Sheriff Howard Smith had requested funding for 20 new slots but said he was satisfied.
"I think we need more positions, but I understand the impact that's going to have on the county because the state's not meeting its obligation," Smith said. "I realize there are many other needs in the county besides law enforcement."
The proposed budget also includes more than $335,000 for six new full-time firefighter/medics, as well as a $125,000 total increase for volunteer agencies.
The plan provides county employees with pay raises of up to 4.3 percent, depending on their job performance.
Rising health insurance and retirement costs--with no corresponding expansion of benefits--for county employees are driving up spending by more than $1.1 million.
"That's one of the most frustrating things about the budget," Wheeler said. "Here is a major expenditure increase that, at the end of the day, provides us with nothing more than what we already have."
The one shadow of doubt over the planning process is the protracted state budget stalemate in Richmond. More than a third of the money in Spotsylvania's budget comes from the state.
The House of Delegates and the state Senate are struggling over whether and how much to raise income, sales and tobacco taxes.
As a result, county officials are uncertain exactly how much state money they will get.
If state lawmakers don't forge their own spending blueprint by June 30--the expiration date for current state and local budgets--Spotsylvania supervisors will face difficult decisions. Lack of any state funds would blow a $117 million hole in Spotsylvania's proposed spending plan, too big a gap for the county's $30 million reserve fund to bridge.
"If we didn't have a state budget and it didn't look like we were going to have one--and I find it difficult to believe that will happen--we would have to sit down with the board and look at the dedicated and non-dedicated state revenues and come up with a specific plan to address the revenue imbalance," Wheeler said.
To reach GEORGE WHITEHURST: 540/374-5438 gwhitehurst@freelancestar.com