King George County Supervisor Cathy Binder expressed concern about County Administrator Matthew Smolnik Tuesday night following the presentation of his recommended budget.
Smolnik was so determined to present a budget without an increase to the real-estate tax rate that he trimmed the economic development department by 54%, causing Binder to express apprehension about the first-year administrator’s workload and physical health.
“I don’t want him to end up at Mary Washington [Hospital] because we overtaxed him too much,” Binder said of Smolnik.
Smolnik’s $137.2 million operating budget reflects no increase in the real estate tax rate of 68 cents per $100 of assessed value. His budget also includes flat — or unchanged — local funding for the county’s school division. Smolnik proposed $67.7 million for King George County Public Schools, with $25.3 million coming from local funding.
A raise of one cent to the real estate tax rate equates $408,914 in value, but the supervisors expressed pride that King George’s rate is one of the lowest in the region, tied with Westmoreland County and eight cents higher than Richmond County.
“It would be nice to be the lowest, but then could you provide the services?” Smolnik said.
King George does, however, boast the lowest real-estate tax rate among the five localities in Planning District 16, which also includes Fredericksburg as well as Caroline, Spotsylvania and Stafford counties.
Smolnik also presented a separate $3 million budget proposal for Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) projects.
Among the projects Smolnik recommended for the upcoming fiscal year are $866,109 to replace the turf at the King George High School’s stadium; $800,000 for a metal building to house equipment for the sheriff’s office; $390,000 to purchase six sheriff’s office vehicles; $400,000 for an ambulance replacement; and various other expenditures.
King George Superintendent Jesse Boyd requested that Smolnik add replacements for school buses that are phased out after 20-plus years of service and hundreds of thousands of miles. The board recommended that Smolnik amend the CIP to add two new school buses to the fleet of 65.
“If we skipped a year, it would create a compounding issue for next year,” Boyd said.
The artificial turf at the high school was first installed 13 years ago, and supervisors said it has not been well maintained. Describing it as a safety hazard, they directed Boyd to come up with a better maintenance plan when the new turf is installed.
They also directed Boyd to examine the possibility of adding bleachers to the visitor’s side of the stadium or behind the end zone, so that King George can meet capacity levels required to potentially host Virginia High School League events.
“It would be very valuable to do that, but nobody has had the will to do that,” Collins said of adding bleachers.
Smolnik requested two work sessions for a deeper dive into his proposed budget. The dates are to be determined. A public hearing on the tax rate, fees and budget will be held April 15 with a final budget adoption set for May 5.
In other business, the county voted unanimously to approve a siting agreement for Harwood Battery Storage following a public hearing during which no one spoke. The project, which features a battery storage facility, switchyard, and substation to serve the county, Dahlgren Naval Support Facility and the surrounding region, was proposed by Open Road Renewables and would be located opposite the intersection of U.S. Route 301 and Washington Mill Road.
The county voted to accept five annual payments of $73,000 for a total of $365,000 in addition to $6.4 million in projected tax revenue over the life of the project. The agreement also includes $250,000 for the purchase of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) equipment, $30,000 for EMS personal protective equipment and $25,000 every five years for new EMS turnout gear.
Binder, who cited safety concerns, was the lone vote against the project last month but supported the siting agreement Tuesday.
