Lunenburg County budget requests heard and considered

If approved, the proposed Lunenburg County budget would see increases for some departments, and extra staff for the sheriff’s office. There’s also the tax rate to consider, which while a drop from this year’s number, would still mean higher bills, thanks to the reassessment of property values.

Currently, the real estate tax rate in Lunenburg is 38 cents per $100 of assessed value. The board of supervisors agreed last month to reduce that, dropping it down to 33 cents per $100. And yet, that doesn’t mean the tax bills will drop. This year’s real estate assessment found that property values increased 27% in Lunenburg County, rising to $1,213,946,300 compared to $954,775,100 in 2023. As a result, despite the lower tax rate, the bills will be higher and the county will see more revenue. Specifically, Lunenburg will bring in an additional $377,877 at a rate of 33 cents per $100.

The proposed budget also sees several requests approved by departments. Take the sheriff’s office, for example. The Lunenburg County Sheriff’s Office budget would increase by $75,000 in this budget. That would help fund two extra road deputy positions, which Sheriff Arthur Townsend has explained is a need. With the two positions, there would only be one four-hour window in the early morning hours that doesn’t have a deputy on patrol. The rest of the shifts would be covered.

Another increase in this budget comes from Crossroads Community Service. As a rule, Crossroads is required to request 10% of their budget from member counties. Their overall budget has gone up, so their request to Lunenburg includes an additional $6,000. A total of 14.2% of Crossroads services went to Lunenburg residents of the past year.

The next meeting of the Lunenburg Board of Supervisors is set for Thursday, May 9, with a potential presentation on the overall final proposed budget.

The post Lunenburg County budget requests heard and considered appeared first on Kenbridge Victoria Dispatch .