It took the Mathews County Board of Supervisors less than an hour to adopt the FY 2027 budget and tax rates during a meeting last Thursday in the historic courthouse. The vote was 4-1 on both the budget and tax rates, with supervisor Pat Beattie dissenting. The board also approved an increase in the meals tax rate, from 4 percent to 6 percent, beginning July 1. The vote on that measure was unanimous. The FY 2027 budget includes a real estate tax rate of 62 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, an increase of 2 cents from the current rate of 60 cents per $100 of valuation. The decisions followed months of budget discussions in numerous budget workshops during which supervisors delved into budget numbers line by line, seeking ways to reduce costs. All the work culminated in an April 16 public hearing at which only one resident objected to the proposed 2-cent increase in the real estate tax rate and only two people commented on the proposed $47.68 million budget. During this meeting’s pub...