James City County supervisors will get a proposed operating budget Friday that increases spending 2.9% over the current budget and will raise what taxpayers spend on property taxes by 5 cents per $100 of assessed value.
The county received a double-digit increase in property tax revenue this year despite a 5-cent tax credit to taxpayers, because of a dramatic jump in property tax values.
“My proposed budget will not include the continuation of the tax credit,” county administrator Scott Stevens told us via email. “What I heard from residents last spring was, if we had to have a tax increase, could we phase it in over time?
“The tax credit provided a way to phase in the increase. Ultimately, this is a decision for the Board of Supervisors to make during the budget process and public discussion in April and May.”
Stevens told the board at their Monday meeting he will present them a budget Friday that “is pretty tight and represents the times we’re in and the pressures people are feeling in …