Dinwiddie budget plan includes cut in real estate tax rate
DINWIDDIE -- The real estate tax rate would be cut 10 cents and most departments would see less funding -- including a 3 percent salary reduction for all county employees -- under a budget proposed by County Administrator W. Kevin Massengill yesterday.
The salary cuts would save the county about $250,000. Massengill said the county needs the money from the salaries to balance the budget. County officials are projecting lower revenues because of the economy.
Under the plan, nine positions that were vacated last month through layoffs would remain unfilled and eight others that were already vacant would also remain unfilled, Massengill said. The county expects to save about $875,000 through the unfilled positions.
County schools would get $11.34 million under the new plan, the same amount allocated to the system in the current budget. School employees are not included in the proposed salary cuts.
The fiscal 2010 general fund budget for Dinwiddie County is $38.58 million, or about 5.8 percent lower than the current budget.
The financial plan is based on the Board of Supervisors' proposed real estate tax rate of 77 cents per every $100 of the assessed property value. The current rate is 87 cents per every $100 of the assessed property value.
The tax rate is being lowered because a recent real estate reassessment raised property values an average of 50 percent.
Based on the 77-cent rate, local revenues from real estate taxes are projected at $16.5 million, or $1.7 million more than the real estate tax revenues in the current budget.
The board will have a final vote on the new rate after a public hearing April 28. A budget hearing is set for May 12, and the final adoption of the budget would be May 19.
The county is also reducing part-time hours in several agencies, limiting departmental spending such as cell-phone use and holding on to some capital-improvement projects to reduce spending.
An review of county government agencies this year identified $1.19 million in savings for fiscal 2010 through such cuts.
Contact Luz Lazo at (804) 649-6058 or
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Reader Reactions
Apparently this reporter lacks investigative skills nor has basic math skills.
This admin. circus of smoke and mirrors amounts to a nearly 26% INCREASE to avg. property tax compared to the previous tax bill.
Our admintrator is currently being paid nearly what the Gov. of TN gets! The public is being grossly ill served here. The poor and average person living in Dinwiddie is getting the short end of the stick; while if you own an airplane your taxed at only .50 on $100!!!
Cut in Real Estate Tax? No, the article clearly states that the budget includes a 10% real estate tax INCREASE. The budget makes use of the sleight of hand of reducing the tax rate, but not enough to offset the ludicrous and exorbitant tax increases due to the reassessment. This helpful illusion allows the Board of Supervisors to raise taxes without the public really understanding that they have done so.
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