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Rappahannock County budget proposes no tax hikes for residents, raise for employees

by | Mar 24, 2021

Total spending in the proposed budget falls by nearly five percent.
Total spending in the proposed budget falls by nearly five percent. (Photo/Luke Christopher)
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604956712097b.preview.jpg

Rappahannock County Administrator Garrey W. Curry presented a budget Wednesday night that shaves spending overall while opening the county purse for key priorities, including an across-the-board five percent raise for all county employees.

The highlights:

  • Total spending of $27,666,734. That’s nearly 5 percent less than an adjusted spending figure of $28,947,023 in the current fiscal year.

  • A 5 percent pay increase for county employees, projected to cost $220,662, but the county is looking to the State of Virginia to cover $92,684 of the bill.

  • No increases in real estate or personal property taxes for residents.

  • Public schools would receive $8,845,964 from the county, with another $4,743,622 coming from the state and federal government, plus other grants.

  • Funding for paid Emergency Medical Services, including $211,000 for a year-round emergency provider, plus $68,500 for EMS operational expenses.

  • Modest increases for social services and the Sheriff’s Office.

What’s next: The budget blueprint now enters a short season of wrangling and negotiation, with public hearings and working sessions culminating on May 12, when the Board of Supervisors will gather at the county courthouse for the formal adoption of the new budget.

For more details: Pick up a copy of this week’s Rappahannock News on Thursday or get the e-edition Wednesday evening to read Tim Carrington’s front page story.

Author

  • Tim Carrington

    Tim Carrington has worked in journalism and economic development, writing for The Wall Street Journal for fifteen years from New York, London and Washington. He later joined the World Bank, where he launched a training program in economics journalism for reporters and editors in Africa and the former Soviet Union. He also served as senior communications officer for the World Bank’s Africa Region.

    He is author of The Year They Sold Wall Street, published by Houghton Mifflin, and worked at McGraw Hill Publications before joining the Wall Street Journal. His writing on development issues has appeared in The Globalist, World Paper, Enterprise Africa, the 2003 book, The Right To Tell: The Role of Mass Media in Economic Development.

    He is a regular writer for The Rappahannock News through the Foothills Forum. His profiles and stories on the county’s political economy have earned several awards from the Virginia Press Association.

    Carrington is also a painter, whose work is regularly shown at the Middle Street Gallery in Little Washington. He grew up in Richmond, Va., and graduated from the University of Virginia. In 2006, he and his wife became part-time resident in Rappahannock County, which is currently their legal residence.

    Reach Tim at [email protected]
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By Tim Carrington

Read more articles by Tim Carrington
Tim Carrington has worked in journalism and economic development, writing for The Wall Street Journal for fifteen years from New York, London and Washington. He later joined the World Bank, where he launched a training program in economics journalism for reporters and editors in Africa and the former Soviet Union. He also served as senior communications officer for the World Bank’s Africa Region. He is author of The Year They Sold Wall Street, published by Houghton Mifflin, and worked at McGraw Hill Publications before joining the Wall Street Journal. His writing on development issues has appeared in The Globalist, World Paper, Enterprise Africa, the 2003 book, The Right To Tell: The Role of Mass Media in Economic Development. He is a regular writer for The Rappahannock News through the Foothills Forum. His profiles and stories on the county’s political economy have earned several awards from the Virginia Press Association. Carrington is also a painter, whose work is regularly shown at the Middle Street Gallery in Little Washington. He grew up in Richmond, Va., and graduated from the University of Virginia. In 2006, he and his wife became part-time resident in Rappahannock County, which is currently their legal residence. Reach Tim at [email protected]