A tax increase is likely coming to Henry County in the upcoming 2024-2025 fiscal year, though the specific amount has yet to be determined.
County supervisors voted unanimously during a special called meeting on Tuesday to schedule a public hearing on a tax increase for June 25. While county staff will advertise the proposed tax increase for 7 cents, for a total of 62 cents per $100 property valuation, the board wants the public to understand that amount is not set in stone.
Both Tuesday’s special meeting and the upcoming public hearing were to address the school system’s 2024-2025 fiscal year budget. The state’s recent decision to increase funding to Henry County to $80 million means an increased local match of $20 million. In the current fiscal year, the state allocated $70.4 million to Henry County, which required a local match of $16.2 million.
“We’re very fortunate that the commonwealth of Virginia stepped up and provided some significant extra revenue for public education,” said County Manager Dale Wagoner, later adding that “it’s a pretty significant increase for one year.”
Supervisors considered several options to cover the increased local match: drawing from reserves, drawing from other departments, increasing taxes or some combination of the three. While supervisors agreed that the county would have to raise taxes in the near future, they worried that a drastic increase would be poorly received by residents.
Currently, the county’s tax rate is 55 cents per $100 valuation. Supervisors said they hope that residents see the 62-cent tax rate currently advertised for the public hearing as more of a placeholder than a final figure. The tax increase could be as low as 3 cents, for a total of 58 cents per $100 valuation.
Wagoner explained how both ends of the spectrum could impact a resident with a property valued at $100,000: A 3-cent increase would change a tax bill on such a property from $555 to $586, while a 7-cent increase would change a tax bill from $555 to $630.
