The Mathews County Board of Supervisors met Monday afternoon to finalize efforts to trim the FY 2027 budget prior to the budget and tax rate adoption meeting scheduled for 6 o’clock this evening, Thursday, April 30, in the historic courthouse on Court Street.
County Administrator Ramona Wilson presented the board with new budget numbers based on revenue estimates from updated property value information from the Commissioner of the Revenue and updated Social Services expenses based on the statewide budget that is still in the adoption process.
Wilson said that she was able to increase budget revenues by $80,000 after a discussion with Commissioner of the Revenue Les Hall. Total real estate values for Mathews are $2.191 billion, she said, with tax reductions for the elderly and disabled valued at approximately $50 million, for a yield of $2.141 billion in taxable property value.
The current tax rate of 60 cents per $100 of assessed value yields $12.85 million in revenue, she said, while each additional penny of tax levied on real estate would yield an additional $214,177.
A tax rate of 62 cents per $100 of assessed value would equal revenues of $13.279 million, and Wilson delivered a budget on revenues of $13.271 million, or a revenue increase of $80,000 over the version that was presented and discussed during the board of supervisors meeting held on Thursday, April 16.
Wilson made various adjustments in the budget, including a reduction of $200,000 in the sheriff’s office budget because of expiring grant funding, offset by the addition of $100,000 in expected new grant funding. She also increased the sheriff’s expenses by $61,262 to account for the new grant funding, which pays for a temporary support position; reduced the contingency fund by $30,000; and reduced debt service on the $12 million bond financing by $105,029 because of a more favorable interest rate than originally accounted for.
The changes reduced the general fund budget, excluding capital projects and fleet expenses, by $74,630, for a total general fund operating budget of $20,494,618.
The Mathews Social Services budget will increase by $54,630, said Wilson, because of a state-mandated increase in pay, benefits for the two social workers and additional support previously approved by the board to cover the cost of increased premiums for family insurance, and depreciation of the new conference room and a vehicle. She said the numbers were “a worst-case scenario,” with additional reimbursements expected after the state budget is approved.
The numbers brought the overall budget, including transfers to Social Services and the schools, to $37,567,789, which is $20,000 less than the budget that was advertised for public hearing.
Sheriff’s request
Mathews Sheriff April Edwards discussed the need to replace the access control system at Liberty Square after a failure, and the board voted 4-1, with supervisor David Walsh dissenting, to have the planning commission consider including the cost of a replacement system in the capital improvement plan budget. The system, which has a 10-year warranty, would cost $310,000, payable in installments of $62,000 annually over five years.
Closed session
After the meeting, the board went into closed session to once again discuss issues related to litigation with Hole in the Wall Waterfront Grill, located on county-owned property at 384 Old Ferry Road. The matters under continued discussion included disposition of publicly held real property, acquisition of real property for septic, legal requirements applicable to settlement negotiations, contract law, and legal advice regarding breach of contract.
No action was taken after the board returned to open meeting.