BEDFORD — Bedford County residents will see their tax rates remain the same in the upcoming fiscal year after the board of supervisors voted to keep tax rates flat for the third straight year in a meeting this week.
Although more than two dozen people attended the Monday meeting, no one spoke during public hearings on the county’s tax rates and proposed $101.8 million 2019 fiscal year budget, which includes almost $35.7 million for Bedford County Public Schools. Deputy County Administrator Reid Wodicka said this is a $335,336 increase in the school district’s discretionary funds over the current year’s budget.
According to budget documents, the Bedford County School Board requested $1.7 million more in funding from supervisors this year, but Wodicka said the county could not grant the request because of “the limited resources we have in the present fiscal year.”
However, he said the county incorporated the school system’s major upgrade requests into its Capital Improvement Plan for the first time this year. The fiscal year 2019 budget includes $1.2 million in CIP funds for Bedford Primary School HVAC improvement and roof replacement.
“We are really proud of that and really excited to be able to plan for the future of the community and making sure we are taking care of the community resources we have,” Wodicka said.
He explained county staff also is looking forward to implementing three innovative pilot programs to address Bedford County’s growing social support needs for children, adults and families.
One of these is the School Based Foster Care Program. It is a partnership between the county’s Department of Social Services and Bedford County Public Schools that aims to identify children at risk for entering foster care and work with families to prevent entry into that system. Although the school district received a grant for the foster care program, it requires $15,000 in matching funds from the county.
Wodicka said the program, which will place a social worker at Stewartsville Elementary School, came about because the county has seen a significant increase in children entering the foster care system during the past year.
“Our philosophy is we think kids do best when they’re at home with their family, and we think that’s the best thing for the community and the child, so what we’re trying to do is keep families together as much as we possibly can,” he explained.
District 2 Supervisor Edgar Tuck said he was pleased with the current budget but is looking forward to the April 23 budget work session to hammer out additional details, like the possibility of raises for county employees.
“It seems to me that we’re able to do some significant things without going back to taxpayers right now, so I’m happy with that,” he said.