Pitt. Co. explores new real estate rate proposal

(Chatham) — The Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors is asking staff to draw up a budget with a 56-cent real estate tax rate. That’s lower than the current 62-cent rate.  It’s also lower than the 59-cent rate that was previously advertised for next year’s budget. 
    But with a 48% increase in county property values, it will still add up to most property owners paying more. 
    County Administrator Stuart Turille says they’ve held the line on real estate taxes the past six years. “Inflationary costs went up 35% since the last tax increase in 2018,” Turille told Supervisors at a Tuesday budget work session. “We’ve used ARPA and CARES Act funding and fund reserves to balance the budget.”
    Banister District Supervisor Robert Tucker says the county has been able to use federal COVID money to make ends meet the past couple of years.  But that money has dried up. “As a county, as a community as a Board; we cannot afford to go backward,” Tucker said. “We cannot piecemeal another budget just to get by.”
    To be revenue-neutral, the rate would have to be lowered to 45 cents. 
    Pittsylvania County Finance Director Kim Van Der Hyde reminded the Board that they’ve already made big cuts to the budget. “We cut requests by nearly two million dollars before the draft budget was presented to you,” Van Der Hyde told Supervisors. “
    But Board Chairman Darrel Dalton says boosting local tax collections six-and-a-half (m) million is too much at one time. “This is the largest increase in history.  We’ve never had a 35% increase in one year,” Dalton said. “Of course, we’ve never had this kind of reassessment increase either.”
    The county threw out the original reassessment done in 2022 by Brightminds.  They hired the Pearson Group to conduct reassessment last year.
    Chatham-Blairs Supervisor Ken Bowman says the best way to balance the county budget is to get a handle on spending. “I would freeze all positions right now. The only ones I would fill are the vacant ones that are critical and absolutely necessary,” Bowman told fellow Supervisors. 
    The budget includes a 3% cost of living adjustment for county workers, seven new full-time positions and new school resource officers. It also pays for a new ambulance station to cover the 640 Rescue service area. 
    Bowman says all of those items should be on the table for debate, along with extra money the budget earmarks for fire and rescue.  “Until we get this ironed out, I would just as soon give them what they got last year,” Bowman said. “Let’s get over this hump.  Then we can sit down with them, map out a strategy and come back with a long-term plan.”
    Supervisors will vote on the 24-25 budget at a called meeting on Thursday. Staffers will have to decide what will be cut in order to balance the budget with a 56-cent real estate rate.