by Jonathan Hunley | Aug 27, 2026 | ALLFFP , Government , Politics & Elections , Stafford Drafting Stafford’s county government budget for the next fiscal year likely won’t be easy, County Administrator Bill Ashton said Tuesday evening. “Next year’s budget will be the most challenging one we’ve done yet,” he told the Board of Supervisors. Even if the supervisors don’t approve a real-estate tax rate increase for fiscal 2028 as they did for the current budget year, fiscal 2027, inflation and tax breaks for certain residents will continue to wreak havoc with the budget, the administrator said. “The board has been abundantly clear, at least to me, that there is not an appetite for tax increases next year as part of this budget, and that’s something that has resonated with me and the senior [government leadership] team,” Ashton said. “That being said, the costs are still going to continue to rise. Inflation right now is 3.4%, so the things we’re doing now are going to be 3.4% more expensive, give or take, next year.” Tax breaks, especially for disabled veterans, are also going up, which means the county has less revenue than it would have if those residents were paying more. That’s made for a dicey situation for Stafford budget-writers and elected officials. They maintain they support the notion of giving the benefit to veterans while acknowledging it’s hard to make up for the lost revenue. Earlier this year, the supervisors did approve a real-estate tax rate increase — from the previous figure of $0.9236 per $100 of assessed value to $0.9675 — but that funds a budget Ashton had already slimmed down from the previous fiscal year . He said the money situation is so bad now that there’s no way the county can afford to hire new employees in the next budget year. “We’re going to have some hard decisions with what we got before we even start talking about things like that,” the administrator said. To prepare to complete a more challenging spending plan, Ashton said he needs input from supervisors earlier in the budget process. “So, as I’m making trade-offs, they’re trade-offs that are at least marginally acceptable to you all,” he said. “So I don’t deliver a budget that’s DOA in front of you.” Ashton is scheduled to unveil his budget on March 2, 2027, and the supervisors and staff will start discussing financial matters as early as this October. Board Chairman Deuntay Diggs hinted at the idea that taxes shouldn’t go up in the next fiscal year. “And so we know there’s going to have to be some cuts,” he said. “We know that everything’s not going to get fully funded. So let’s start processing that.” Despite the dire budgetary warning, Vice Chairwoman Maya Guy asked whether the administrator could still present options to the board on what would be required to hire a couple of key new employees. Ashton, however, responded by again prognosticating a dim view of the fiscal landscape. “Let’s talk privately about it,” he said, “because I’ll tell you what the repercussions are, and they’re not pretty.” Today’s News Sponsored by: ' + successData + ' ' + msgText + '
Curated by Taleb Kabbara · Source: www.fredericksburgfreepress.com