A $21.95 million draft 2011-2012 Mathews County budget was unveiled at the board of supervisors meeting on Tuesday afternoon, and the board scheduled its first work session on the document for 7 o’clock tonight in the historic courthouse.

The operational part of the proposed budget, $21.06 million, represents a 1.3 percent increase over the current fiscal year, according to County Administrator Steve Whiteway.

Most of the change is due to a 2.4 percent increase in funding for schools to cover the loss of state funding and higher contributions to the retirement system, a 5.1 percent increase in funding for services to children mandated by the Comprehensive Services Act, and a 2.9 percent increase in debt service because of an increase in payments on the principal of the mortgage on the new courthouse and on the solid waste transfer center bonds.

Other increases in the budget include $36,955 for a new state mandate that requires localities to pay for death or disability ben...