County leaders explain upcoming budget

Posted May 5, 2025 at 11:58 PM, Filed Under: All News, Front Page, Meetings, Upcoming Speaker

By Greg Pearson

Deputy County Administrator Matt Harris and Budget Director Gerard Durkin answered more than 25 questions from the audience who came to hear them talk about the FY26 Chesterfield budget that becomes effective July 1. Like other local governments in Virginia, the county board is keeping an eye on the financial uncertainty at the federal level and those monies that trickle down from the state government budget, which is still being determined by the state legislature.

About 80% of the $44 million increase in spending for Chesterfield’s budget goes into three buckets: $17 million for first responders (police, fire and EMS); $15 million for schools including a 3% hike in teacher salaries; and $5 million to offset spending on tax relief for the elderly and disabled.

While residents in the 360 corridor have focused on the growth of multifamily developments in the Midlothian area, Harris said the real population growth is further west surrounding Magnolia Green. The bond issues passed in 2022 will support the Deep Creek Middle School opening this August and a new high school nearby in 2027.

Despite concerns expressed by several participants at the meeting, Harris said, “The student population in Chesterfield is stable.”

The number of younger students is being offset by those who are graduating from the public school system, he explained. More schools are needed to serve the population growth in the western portion of the county. While there are more multifamily developments springing up, Harris pointed out that those units are typically only 1-3 bedrooms with few children.

Chesterfield has made some progress growing the commercial base of property taxes with that share increasing slightly to 22% with the balance from residential property owners. As a result of being known as a bedroom community, the county property tax rate — being reduced by a penny to 89 cents per $100 of assessed value — continues to be higher than neighboring Henrico County, which has far more retail and employment centers. Providing services for commercial developments is less expensive than residential, mostly because of schools.

Harris emphasized the three data centers in the Magnolia Green area and at the Watkins Center are making their way through the zoning process, which he said will provide employment at a low cost to those needed services from Chesterfield. The county utilities department is working on a new source of water from the adjacent Hopewell area. Currently, Chesterfield gets its water from the Appomattox River, James River and Swift Creek Reservoir.

Representatives of Chesterfield’s utilities department will present a program on the 1,500-foot flood wall being built around the Swift Creek treatment plant at the Brandermill Region Men’s Club (BRMC) meeting on June 5. The program will include updates on the fourth county water source plus the latest on the hydrilla problem and begin at 10 am at the Brandermill Church. The construction of the flood wall is slated to start later this month.

Given the lack of county news, the BRMC expanded the outreach of its speaker programs and made them available to any resident of Chesterfield County whether or not they were a member of the men’s club. The annual cost for senior men to belong is just $35/year and includes a Christmas party, picnic and numerous group outings at a nominal, additional cost. For more details, go to http://brmcva.org.