The Mathews County Board of Supervisors approved a $31 million budget last Thursday and adopted a real estate tax rate of $.56 per $100 of assessed value for the 2024 fiscal year after two brief public hearings at which few residents spoke.
The vote was 4-1 on each measure, with supervisor Mike Walls dissenting.
Tax rates
County administrator Ramona Wilson explained during the public hearing on the tax rate that last year’s combined value of all real estate in the county, $1.72 billion, had yielded tax revenues of $10.99 million.
After this year’s reassessment, she said, the combined value of all real estate was up to $2.34 billion, which at last year’s tax rate of $0.64 per $100 of assessed value would yield tax revenues of $15 million, or over $4 million additional, a 37 percent increase.
However, appeals to the assessor resulted in 333 changes being made to home values, said Wilson, reducing the total value of all properties to $2.16 billion, which at the equalized tax rate of $0.53 per $100 of assessed value would yield tax revenues of $13.27 million, or a difference of $2.3 million, 21 percent more than last year after removing new construction and exempt properties.
Rather than using the fully equalized tax rate of $0.53, Wilson instead asked that the board approve a tax rate that was $0.03 higher, or $0.56 per $100 of assessed value, in order to cover the $300,000 needed for architecture and engineering designs for Mathews Volunteer Fire Department’s new Station 1 at the corner of Buckley Hall Road and Mogers Corner near the high school, the $100,000 needed for repair and replacement of various county docks, and a $221,000 buffer for possible additional reductions in property values after the board of equalization hears further appeals.
All other tax rates remained unchanged from last year. They include a personal property tax rate of $3.70 per $100 of assessed value, boats at $1.45 per $100 of assessed value, and other personal property, machinery, and tools at $2.14 per $100 of assessed value.
During public comment period, Albert Clark of Hudgins questioned the $100,000 included in the capital improvement budget for docks. He said he couldn’t understand how $100,000 could be needed to repair “only one dock” in the county.
Board chair Dave Jones explained that there is more than one dock in the county and that many of the docks are in grave need of repair.
Budget
During the hearing on the FY2024 budget, Wilson outlined the major changes in the proposed $31 million budget from last year’s $30.78 million budget, including a salary increase of 5 percent for all county employees to match the state compensation board and an additional $11,600 for witness protection to match surrounding localities.
She listed several personnel changes for administration that involved reclassifying two positions, moving an employee from part- to full-time, and hiring seasonal employees, as well as making adjustments to the budget for animal control, and she reiterated the additional funding for the new fire station and dock repairs/replacement in the capital improvement plan budget.
Wilson pointed out that she had provided the schools with level funding and that the mortgages on Liberty Square and the Mathews Rescue Squad building were both paid off in April.
Supervisor Melissa Mason said the budget served as a reminder that the county’s revenue stream relies largely on real estate taxes and that the county needs economic development in order to create other revenue streams to offset the cost of taxes. She said the board needs to look at ways to attract businesses to Mathews and should creatively market itself to make it attractive to new people.
Wilson said it would help to have an economic development position on the county staff to help keep businesses and to promote the county.
Jones said the county needs to make use of the waterfront property it owns by providing public access on parcels that “have been laying a long time.”
“If we don’t move to get it fixed up to use, they’ll go to Gloucester,” he said, adding, “If you want ’em to come here, you gotta give ’em a reason to come here.”
Walls said the newly-established parks and recreation committee is moving forward to “do something” with parcels the county owns on Gwynn’s Island and Billups Creek. He said the board needs to “lean on the EDA (economic development authority) a little more” and fill the three currently vacant positions.
Jones once again pushed the idea of turning 40 acres the county originally acquired as possible land for a new fire station into a park instead. He said it could have paths and playing fields and would enhance what the county has by drawing people for recreational purposes who would then eat and shop locally. He said that, while he doesn’t want any strings attached, there are Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation grants available that could help with costs.
Walls pointed out that for the second year in a row he had asked for a workshop during the budget process so that the board could go take an in-depth look at all the requests from outside agencies that the county receives every year, but that no workshop had been held.
Jones said the board didn’t get the information it needed in a timely fashion, which had affected the time it had to include a workshop, but said, “I’ll see to it we have it next year.”
During public comment period, Tricia Stall of North said that, while it’s the standard for governments to say they need to increase the revenue stream, Mathews should instead reduce expenses.
“With 42 entities coming to the government trough to feed, you need to say no,” she said.
Lynn Jaeger of Cobbs Creek said that the Middle Peninsula-Northern Neck Community Services Board provides a lot of mental health and substance abuse services to the county and that she hoped supervisors weren’t thinking of cutting the county’s support for the organization.
Albert Clark of Hudgins said the schools “need our help,” and Randall Dobson of Cobbs Creek said the county needs to attract new small manufacturing to the county by promising to provide the work force to do the job.
Following the public hearing, the board went into closed session to discuss matters involving 384 Old Ferry Road and the Hole in the Wall Restaurant, but no action was taken on the matter when the board reconvened.
In comments made after the meeting, Walls said he voted against both the budget and the tax rates because he felt the board hadn’t done its due diligence because he hadn’t had a work session on the outside agencies.