Henry County Council considers raising taxes

The Henry County Board of Supervisors is considering raising property taxes after receiving a proposal.

HENRY COUNTY, Va. (WFXR) — The Henry County Board of Supervisors is considering raising property taxes after receiving a proposal.

The county says if the increase is approved, additional funds will be dedicated to education. Property taxes will increase from $0.55.5 to $0.62 per $100 of assessed value to comply with the state’s required funding level.

The last time the county approved a property tax increase was in 2017.

In April, the board passed a budget that will increase school funding by $4.3 million, bringing the school budget to $107,018,865. That total includes $72.6 million in state funds and $21.6 million in local funds, but the state finalized a budget that increased its share to $80 million.

Using the state’s formula, Henry County would be required to provide $20.1 million to match the increase in state funding.

On June 6, the Henry County School Board amended its budget and requested $3.8 million in discretionary funds from the locality, bringing the total amount of local funding to $23.9.
million.

The school board also asked the locality to increase its facilities budget by $1.12 million.
of the budget initially adopted. The fund currently has a balance of $10.2 million and generates approximately $5.5 million annually.

The new tax rate will provide the state required amount and additional discretionary funds to the school board.

The Henry County Board of Supervisors has scheduled a public hearing for June 23 at 6 p.m. to receive public comments.