On Friday March 2, 2007,
Albemarle County Executive Bob Tucker
unveiled his
recommended County budget
for fiscal year 2008. The total operating and capital budget is over $315 million dollars. The proposed operating budget alone is $266.1 million, representing a 6.7% increase over the prior fiscal year. The budget is based on maintaining the 2006 property tax rate of $0.74 cents per $100 of assessed value. Local taxpayers saw annual property assessments increase on average 14.9% last year (almost 30% over two years). Assessments are projected to increase 11.5% next year and 5.2% on average in each of the four years after that.
Podcast produced by Charlottesville Tomorrow * Player by Odeo
Listen using player above or download the podcast:
Download 20070302-CoBudget.mp3
As part of their process, the
Board of Supervisors will set the tax rate for calendar year 2007
at their budget meetings in April. Any change from the current rate would be retroactive to January 1, 2007 and would impact the current year’s budget. At the Board’s direction, Mr. Tucker set aside $3.5 million in a “reassessment reserve fund.” This represents about 2 cents of the current property tax rate revenues. The Board of Supervisors will decide in their budget work sessions how to allocate those funds.
Revenue sharing with the City of Charlottesville has increased over 30% from last year representing $13.2 million in this budget. Ten cents of the Albemarle County tax rate goes to revenue sharing and the total contribution in this budget is based on County property values from calendar year 2005.
Here is the schedule for the upcoming decisions in Albemarle County
[
see calendar for details
]:
Brian Wheeler
