Highland County Board of Supervisors April 2023 Monthly Meeting

The Highland County Board of Supervisors held it’s monthly meeting on April 5.

The Board did a final review of the proposed Fiscal Year 2024 budgets and taxes.

The proposed General Fund Budget is $10,331,467.   The General Fund Budget includes the budgets for the County, the School, Social Services, Children’s Services and the Capital Improvement Fund.

There is no tax increase in the proposed General Fund Budget.  Real estate and personal property tax rates remain the same, with real estate and mobile homes at .48, personal property $2.75, machinery and tools $1.00, and merchant’s capital $1.00.

The Enterprise Fund Budget, for solid waste collection and disposal, will remain the same and will have no change in annual fees.    For residential, the fee is $150, business – low density $75, business – low/medium density $150, business – medium density $225, and business – high density $300.

The Emergency Medical Services Fund annual fee will stay the same at $180.   The proposed EMS budget for Fiscal Year 2024 contains enough funding to hire an EMS Chief, four EMTs, one Advanced EMT and one Paramedic.

The Board adopted the proposed budgets and set the proposed tax rates for publication.  A public hearing on the budgets was set for Wednesday, April 19, at 7:30 pm at the Highland Modular Conference Center.   It will be held during the Board’s monthly work session.

The budgets will be adopted at an additional meeting that was set for Wednesday, April 26 at 7:30 pm at the Highland Modular Conference Center.

In other business, Paul Trible, with the Highland County Volunteer Rescue Squad, spoke during public comment.  He gave a summary of rescue squad calls in March.  There were 22 calls total, with 14 transports, 5 refusals and 3 cancels.  He said most calls were answered by a combination of county staff and volunteers, but one call was answered solely by county staff and five calls were answered solely by volunteers.  Debbie Trible requested information on the county’s Volunteer Stipend Program to present to the rescue squad volunteers.

And the Board set a joint public hearing with VDOT on the Six Year Secondary Road Construction Improvement Program and budget.  The public hearing will be held during the Board’s regular May meeting on Tuesday, May 2 at 7:30pm at the Highland Modular Conference Center.