CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – After seeing real estate assessments rise an average of nearly 6.2%, Albemarle County residents await the new budget County Executive Jeff Richardson will present to the Board of Supervisors on Wednesday at noon.

The County is currently operating under a $644-million budget, adjusted from an earlier $638-million figure, which was fully funded by a 4-cent rise in the real estate tax rate stacked on top of a 5.1% average residential assessment increase.

That was the first real estate tax rate hike since 2019.

3.2-cents of the 4-cent tax increase went toward hiring six new police officers in addition to paying an additional 57 firefighters hired from FEMA grants, for whom the county had to start picking up salary and benefits costs after the federal money expired.

A nearly $83,000 consultant’s study assessing what the county needs to do to improve emergency response in rural areas to the levels it wants to achieve showed staffing issues needing to be addressed.

While the report made recommendations on how to more efficiently use personnel to cover the county, Rio Supervisor and now-Board Chair Ned Gallaway noted at that presentation “acting on the report’s recommendations would translate to budget items down the line.”

Scottsville Supervisor Mike Pruitt told WINA Morning News public safety is a big priority the Board needs to address every year in both police and fire rescue.

“Fire and rescue is a huge and costly expense that we have, especially in the rural areas,” Pruitt said. “There’s a kind of nationwide problem that we see of declining volunteerism.”

He said that necessitates the hiring of more professional firefighters to staff fire stations where volunteer fire rescue units are and were, which means a trend we’re going to see over years to come spending increased public funds on fire rescue.

In addition to a likely budget increase for emergency services in the county, more money will be needed for the schools.

School Superintendent Matthew Haas is seeking $311 million in its operational budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year, which is some $27 million (9.5%) over the current fiscal year, as they’ll be bringing the new schools of Mountain View Upper Elementary and High School Center 2 online for the next academic year.

“Whenever you have a new school, which these are the first in 25 years, so obviously before my time, we obviously have to staff and support the new facilities,” Jack Jouett School Board Member Kate Acuff told WINA Morning News last week. “I think about $4million of the increase in our budget goes to setting up those schools.”

$11.8 million is dedicated to the new collectively bargained compensation increases, benefits and other contractual agreements such as duty-free meal breaks and lunches for licensed and unlicensed school employees, guaranteed planning time for elementary teachers and paid 15-minute breaks for unlicensed personnel.

The School Board is slated to approve the final budget March 12 and present it to the Board of Supervisors March 16. Supervisors will then be tasked with reconciling the School Board request with whatever Richardson will present Wednesday.

In addition to the budget, Richardson will present recommended tax rates in order to balance the spending plan.

“I would suggest and really reinforce the community’s involvement in this process,” said new Samuel Miller Supervisor and Board Vice Chair Fred Missel to WINA Morning News in early February. “I think it’s an opportunity to learn a lot about the process rather than making assumptions, as I often do.”

There has traditionally been little public input at public hearing sessions at Board of Supervisors meetings, though supervisors have said they receive many phone calls and emails, and last year saw more people coming forward in light of the real estate tax rate hike. Missel said he’s heard “quite a bit” from his constituents since the new assessments came out in January.

“I also was a recipient of that increase and have had several conversations and filed several emails about it, and it’s definitely concerning,” he said. “The process of doing an assessment sometimes can result in an assessment that just obviously doesn’t make sense to a homeowner. For example, they may be in a community that is quickly, either gentrifying or increasing in value, where that person in particular may not have done anything to their home but their home is increasing in value even if just sitting there.”

Missel recommends anyone with questions to contact the assessor’s office.

A county release said one way to being engagement with the process is to watch the recommended budget presentation, which is open to the public and livestreamed.

There also are a number of budget work sessions currently schedule, in which the public can attend or watch the livestream where items are discussed in more detail, usually by program area.

“The upcoming community town halls are an opportunity to learn from County staff and the Board of Supervisors about the budget, ask questions, and share input,” the release said. “There are also public hearings at points throughout the process, leading up to the budget adoption at the end of April. A public hearing on the County Executive’s Recommended Budget will be held on March 4, 2026, and public hearings on the calendar year tax rates and the Board’s Proposed Budget will be held on April 15, 2026.”