Well, here we are in a new year and you’re looking at a new Gazette-Journal, issue Number 1 of 2023.

The year ahead is filled with promise, possibilities, uncertainties and concerns. Some things can be counted on in the coming weeks and months. For instance, Gloucester and Mathews supervisors will be busy developing county budgets that will determine what services we, as residents, will receive, and what we’ll have to pay.

A recently completed reassessment in Gloucester has many residents concerned about a huge jump in their home values, and the possibility that this could mean a corresponding increase in real estate taxes. Sticker shock is a real thing. But it will be the job of supervisors and staff to make sure that the tax burden is shared equally. If everyone’s property is assessed at 40 percent more than it was last year, let’s say, then we hope that the tax rate is lowered 40 percent to offset that. There will be some who may actually see a lower bill, while others will l...