Augusta County set to hold public hearing Wednesday on budget containing body and dash cameras
NOTE: A previous version of this story indicated a 10 cent increase in personal property tax, based off of a document on the Augusta County website that may not have been fully updated. The personal property tax was increased to $2.60 in the FY2022 budget.
VERONA — With budget season well underway, the Augusta County Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, April 12 for their fiscal year 2024 proposed budget at their regular meeting, which is set for 7 p.m.
Residents are invited to share their views on budget priorities for the county, and the board and county staff will take the feedback into account prior to adopting their finalized budget. That is tentatively scheduled for the board’s April 26 meeting.
In order to make sure residents get all the answers they need, county staff will be available from 6:30 p.m. at the Augusta County Government Center in Verona leading up to the board meeting to provide any information on the budget residents would need.
The total budget expenditure currently stands at just over $431 million. That’s a lot of money for residents to wrap their head around, so let’s tackle some of the highlights of this year’s budgets. If you want to explore the budget further, the proposed budget and additional information is available on the county’s website.
The FY24 budget includes funding for body and dashboard cameras for the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office
After years of discussion and tabling, body and dashboard cameras are finally in the budget for Augusta County. The item was added as part of a budget work session on March 27, and the line item is projected to cost the county $836,884.
In order to fund the cameras, the county had to increase the real estate tax rate by a single cent, bringing the rate to 64 cents per $100 of assessed value.
The move is one that seems to satisfy the wishes of residents. The results of a recent Augusta County community survey of 801 residents between July and December of last year showed that 65% of those surveyed completely supported body and dash cameras and an additional 21% saying they “mostly supported” the idea. The same survey results showed that 47% completely supported using county funds on cameras while an additional 26% said they “mostly supported” that concept.
Body and dashboard cameras have been a frequent topic of conversation during matters presented by the public, as well.
The general fund budget stands at around $119.7 million.
Overall, the general fund budget is a four percent increase from last year’s budget. That comes coupled with a four percent increase in projected revenues to the county that comes to a total of $104.3 million. The remainder in revenue comes from federal and state sources.
Some of the major expenditures from the general fund include:
Three new governmental positions and a five percent cost-of-living/merit increase in salaries for full- and part-time employees.
48% of general fund revenue goes to Augusta County Schools (about a $1.2 million increase from last year)
Increases to regional agencies and organizations, like Middle River Regional Jail, the regional landfill, Shenandoah Valley Animal Services Center
Local match required for the Children’s Services Act to provide services to youth and family
More on Augusta County Schools budget: Augusta County School Board approves balanced budget with reduced staff raises
Last Board of Supervisors meeting: Want to be the new South River district supervisor? Takeaways from Wednesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting
—Akhil Ganesh is the Government Reporter at The News Leader. You can contact him at aganesh@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @akhildoesthings.
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Augusta County set to hold public hearing Wednesday on budget containing body and dash cameras
