Spotsylvania County Administrator Ed Petrovich sensed the anticipation from the board of supervisors and taxpayers in attendance Tuesday night as he prepared to present his recommended budget for fiscal year 2026.
“Here’s the drumroll,” Petrovich said.
He then went on to explain that he’s proposing a total budget of $953 million — a $131.3 million increase from the current fiscal year — but without an increase in the real estate tax rate.
According to an overview from Petrovich, a combination of regional economic growth ($15.1 million), investment returns ($7.8 million), tenant revenues ($2.7 million), state and federal funding ($17.9 million) and anticipated fee increases/available fund balance ($14.9 million) will allow the county to maintain a real estate tax rate of 73 cents per $100 of assessed value.
“The budget reflects a strategic investment in our employees, in our schools, in our infrastructure,” Petrovich said. “I balanced those priorities through a mix of economic growth, investment returns, debt financing for our capital projects and prudent use of our fund balance without raising any taxes. Given the current uncertainty, I’m not recommending any decreases to the tax rate.”
In an interview following the meeting, Spotsylvania County Public Schools Superintendent Clint Mitchell said he was pleased with Petrovich’s recommended budget. The school board and the board of supervisors will meet Tuesday at 5 p.m. when the school board presents its approved budget. A Capital Improvement Plan work session will follow for the supervisors.
Petrovich’s proposal covers $11.7 million of the $20.8 million budget shortfall for the school division, including a 3% cost-of-living adjustment for all employees, a 2% merit or step adjustment, and market adjustments. There is also funding for 46 new positions to meet mandates, including special education teachers and paraprofessionals.
Petrovich allocated $15.3 million in local funding to the schools, a 9.9% increase from last year. An additional $3.6 million would go to the schools for debt service, as well as $47.7 million in the capital budget for school improvements.
“His budget proposal was a win for the school district because education was prioritized,” Mitchell said. “It was at the center of his presentation. His budget allocation was double what we received last year … He said it was the highest increase in a decade at 9.9%.”
The overall budget gap for the school division is more than $46 million, but Mitchell and the school board decided to attack it incrementally, rather than asking for an amount of money they did not expect to receive. Mitchell hopes the schools are fully funded in 2-3 years.
“I look forward to further discussion on the FY26 budget when the school board presents its budget, and planning for FY27, so we can continue to close the budget gap,” Mitchell said. “This aligns with the tiered approach that I presented this school year.”
Although school officials have long bemoaned being underfunded by the supervisors, Petrovich said county officials are proud to fund 31 schools and provide many other services and amenities with one of the lowest real estate tax rates along the Interstate 95 corridor.
In addition to schools, Petrovich proposed a $1.3 million update to the sheriff’s office pay scale for sworn law enforcement officers, 10 firefighters for Company 12 staffing and a 3% cost-of-living adjustment for public safety personnel.
Petrovich also recommended a $4.5 million transfer from the general fund to support local transportation projects and to hire two additional project managers.
The $214.7 million capital fund budget recommendation includes (in addition to the $47.7 million for school improvements), $111.1 million for water and sewer infrastructure, $22.9 million for fire and rescue equipment and facilities, $20.3 million for transportation projects and $7.1 million for improvements to general government facilities, including the sheriff’s office.
While Petrovich’s presentation was the highlight of Tuesday’s meeting, the supervisors also discussed the school board’s mounting legal fees resulting from various court cases, including a lawsuit filed by former Superintendent Mark Taylor against the school board.
Phillip Trayer, the chief financial officer for the school division, addressed the transfer of $418,000 to the schools — $300,000 for legal fees and $118,000 for a diabetes and weight management program for employees.
“Our legal costs have been exceedingly high in the last couple of years,” Trayer said. “We have some legal issues that we’ve been working through that have been a high dollar amount.”
