By a 5-2 margin, with vice chairman Christopher Hutson and Kevin Smith casting the nay votes, the Gloucester Board of Supervisors adopted the county’s FY 2022 budget during a meeting Monday at Gloucester High School.

The $198.57 million figure represents a $62 million increase from the current budget. Much of that increase, more than $53 million, comes from loan financing with the VPSA for bondable Gloucester County Public School projects. The loan financing in the Capital Fund the last few years has hovered around $5 million.

This year’s School Operating Fund of $65,354,381 is roughly a $2.5 million increase from FY21.

The board voted to keep the real estate tax rate at 69.5 cents per $100 of assessed value. This keeps the tax rate at the same level as FY21; however, with the increase in property valuation, some property owners may be paying more than last year. The personal property tax rate also stays unchanged, at $2.95 per $100. The board approved the rates by a 5-2 vote...