Stafford County mourns the passing of former County Board of Supervisors member Charles “Togie” Payne. Payne served on the Board of Supervisors from 1978 to 1981. He was elected Chairman by his fellow Board members in 1981.
Payne’s family has a long history in Stafford County, starting in 1721. He loved Stafford County and was very proud of his community of Falmouth. Payne was instrumental in modernizing Stafford’s water system.
The proposed property tax increase in Stafford County is prohibitively high.
Many of the speakers at the Board of Supervisors’ April 4 Meeting wanted the tax increase “for the children” with the implication that if you don’t support the increase, you want to hurt our children.
Hundreds attended a public hearing on a proposed 38% percent tax hike in Stafford County.
On Tuesday, April 4, 2023, 81 people signed up to speak, and many shared stories of how their children struggle in the county’s public schools because of the division’s inability to retain experienced teachers, provide adequate places to provide tutoring, and its installation of trailer classrooms outside the school buildings.
The agenda for the Stafford County Board of Supervisors is posted, and, as promised, supervisors will hear from the public about a plan to hike Real Estate taxes by 38% in the coming year.
The tax rate hike, accompanied by a host of other fee increases outlined in the agenda link above, like water and sewer, would mean the owners of average single-family homes could see their tax bills increase from about $3,000 to about $5,000. The additional $947 million budget would be used for pay raises for county staff and teachers, to build new schools, and other projects outlined in this report.
The Stafford County Board of Supervisors will hold a joint meeting with its Planning Commission tonight at 6 o’clock to discuss data centers and their potential impact on the county.
The public meeting is at the Courthouse Community Center, 29 Stafford Avenue.
Editors note: This post appeared on March 28, 2023, as a video on our Youtube channel.
If you missed the story we posted on March 24, 2023, a historic tax increase is proposed for Stafford County residents. The real estate property tax could increase by 40% over last year.
According to the latest figures, owners of averaged-sized single-family homes in Stafford County could be slapped with a $4,811 Real Estate tax bill next year — nearly 40% larger than a year ago, a $1,331 increase.
The Board of Supervisors voted to advertise a $1.175 Real Estate tax rate (including a 3-cent levy to fund fire and rescue services) on every $100 of a home’s value, during its Tuesday, March 21 meeting.
Stafford County announces that all three major rating agencies, Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investors Service, have affirmed Stafford’s AAA bond ratings.
Stafford remains among only 47 counties nationally and 11 counties in Virginia to achieve a triple AAA bond rating – the highest credit rating available. Fitch cited the County’s robust revenue framework and growth prospects, low long-term liability burden, and outstanding gap-closing capacity as pivotal in their decision.
