Mathews County Administrator Mindy Conner offered some clarifying information last week on the 2019-2020 budget that was approved by the Mathews County Board of Supervisors on April 23.

The $26.57 million budget included a 7-cent increase in the real estate tax rate, from 57.5 cents to 64.5 cents per $100 of assessed value.

Conner said that the budget she submitted to the board for approval was balanced and provided full funding for the schools, including approximately $1,371,552 to support a 13-percent increase in compensation for school employees. The proposed budget also included $117,545 to support a 13-percent raise for county staff, said Conner, adding that she had made $90,000 in cuts to administrative line items that could pay for much of that increase. 

“The dollar amount needed to provide the same raise to county personnel that school personnel are being provided is not significant in the overall budget (less than half a percent of the operating budget),” ...