The Gloucester County Board of Supervisors adopted the county’s fiscal year 2012-13 $109 million operating budget with a 6-1 vote Tuesday night during a meeting in the colonial courthouse.

The budget, as adopted, calls for a seven cent increase in the real estate tax rate and a 35 cent increase on the personal property tax. With the increase, the real estate tax will be 65¢ per $100 of assessed value and the personal property tax will jump to $2.95 per $100.

At-large supervisor Ashley Chriscoe cast the lone vote against the budget and the tax levies.

Supervisors took a couple of hours last Thursday night to focus on adjustments to county administrator Brenda Garton’s budget proposal. Her original proposal called for a 10 cent increase on real estate tax and 30 cent increase on the personal property tax.

Another change that was made during budget negotiations was to decrease the cost of living adjustment that was proposed to be given to county and school employees. Garton had proposed a 4 percent increase to each employee’s salary; however, under the adopted budget, employees will receive a 2 percent increase.

Several supervisors took the opportunity to comment on the budget process that took place this year at Tuesday night’s meeting.

York district supervisor Carter Borden said this was one of the most difficult budgets he has seen since he had been following the county’s budget process, even before he took office. "Staff worked hard on it," he said. "We want to thank them for their input."

Borden said he ran into several employees before the budget was adopted Tuesday who told him they understood the reasoning behind decreasing the proposed cost of living adjustment. "Those things go a long way," he said.

Ware district supervisor Andy James said it was a difficult decision to cut the county and school employees’ cost of living adjustment from 4 to 2 percent. "We don’t want them at all to think we don’t appreciate the job they are doing," James said. He said that it is to be hoped that economic conditions will improve and the additional 2 percent can be added to next year’s budget.

James praised Gloucester as a good place to live and said, "I don’t feel we could have cut the budget any more than we did and maintain the same services we have."

Abingdon district supervisor J.J. Orth pledged to county employees and residents that he would do all he could over the next year to promote economic growth in the county and focus especially on small business.

The new budget will take effect July 1.