The Shadow
WARM SPRINGS – The Bath County Board of Supervisors has cleared another hurdle in the budget process.
Thursday night, supervisors held public hearings on the fiscal year 2010-11 Bath County Public Schools budget and the general county budget.
Supervisors also held a budget hearing on the proposed tax rates for the upcoming fiscal year.
The proposed county budget is balanced at $22,977,421.
Schools represent $8,743,580 or 38 percent of the budget. To meet this budget, the schools required level revenue funding from the county in the amount of $6,257,214.
At this level of support, the county is providing 72 percent of school funding for the upcoming year, compared to 67 percent this year. School revenues from the state are down $143,954, while federal revenues are expected to decrease by $425,499.
Total school costs are down $584,454 from the current year with the largest decrease of $544,429 or 8.9 percent in the Instruction category.
The total decrease in budget for schools is 6.3 percent. This reflects both a decline in enrollment and a decline in funding from the state and federal levels.
At the request of supervisors, the school budget was revised to avoid job cuts and pay reductions within the system.
“We do appreciate all the work,” said school board member Joyce Hevener. “We know how hard it is to do a budget.”
Hevener asked the board of supervisors to consider the establishment of a contingency fund for schools, and she also asked supervisors to seriously consider pay increases in next year’s budget preparations.
“I would like to see next year the school staff get some sort of raise,” Hevener said. “If they don’t, it’s four years in a row.”
“I just hope our two boards can continue to see eye to eye and work together for the good of your employees and our employees,” added school board member Dreama Burns. “That’s what we are elected to do.”
County Administrator Bonnie Johnson said that the county’s projected revenues for next year will increase about $2.4 million from $20,581,695 to $22,977,431, and she explained the reasons for the increase.
County real estate tax funds are expected to increase. At 55 cents per $100 of assessed value next year, the same real estate rate as the current fiscal year, an increase of $43,000 is projected. This indicates a small net increase in values due to construction.
Personal property tax proceeds are also expected to increase about $65,000 over the current fiscal year due to increasing book values of vehicles. The county has also advertised a personal property tax rate of 35 cents per $100 of assessed value, the same rate as the current fiscal year.
Johnson explained that Bath County recently received information from the state indicating an increase in public service corporation values because of the configured sales-assessment ratio.
The Virginia Department of Taxation had indicated at the beginning of the budgetary process that the ratio may be 67 percent to 80 percent, and since it was not expected to dip below 67 percent, that was considered the safest budget target.
As the budget was finalized, the state provided a final estimate of 81.6 percent. This increased sales-ratio value is expected to generate $1,237,603 more in revenues from the public service corporations than the anticipated 67 percent.
State funds show an increase of $498,610. The county and Total Action Against Poverty have applied for a Community Development Block Grant of $600,000 for neighborhood revitalization projects. This is added to the budget as a revenue and expenditure in the event the project is funded. If funded, the project will continue over a two-year period in an estimated amount of over $1 million.
Johnson also explained the fund balance – the actual working capital of the county estimated to be available at year’s end. Next year, the fund balance is expected to increase from an estimated $2.9 million to an estimated $4.2 million.
The fund balance includes monies returned at year’s end 2009 by the schools and county, the funds that are required from year to year to provide payments for the permanent high school financing prior to tax collections in December and the funds required to enable the county and schools to function until tax funds are collected in December.
Due to the county’s debt and public service requirements, the fund balance will need to continue to include these components in coming years, Johnson explained.
“At the end of June when all the monies come back from all the different entities in the county, we have to look at our reserve,” Bath County Board of Supervisors Chairman Stuart Hall added. “It’s up to $4.2 million that we have to have from July 1 to carry over up to December when our taxes come in.
“We have to run out of that contingency fund,” Hall added. “That’s some of the reasons that you don’t get the wishes that you have at the end of the year.”
The profile of county expenditures in the budget remain fairly stable except for concerns for constitutional officers who face state budget cuts.
But Johnson said that much of this $72,000 decrease may be restored by the state.
“It appears that the major portion of them will be restored to the budget,” Johnson said. “How this will exactly affect us, we don’t know, and the General Assembly must approve it.”
Virginia lawmakers return to Richmond next week to consider Gov. Bob McDonnell’s amendments to the state budget.
“We’re hoping the governor will restore those funds, and there’s a good chance he will,” Capt. Rick Armstrong with the Bath County Sheriff’s Office told supervisors. “But we also like to cover our bases and ask for your support in helping to make up that shortfall in the budget should that not occur.”
Armstrong also asked supervisors to consider the replacement of two vehicles in the sheriff’s office.
“We ask that you reconsider at least one vehicle for our department,” he said. “These vehicles are dangerous to operate.
“We thank you for all the hard work you’ve put into this budget and hope that we can count on you for your consideration,” Armstrong said.
Supervisors continued the meeting until Thursday, April 29, when they are expected to take action on the budget for schools.
