Six year plan for Botetourt secondary roads, budget and tax rates approved at June BoS meeting

A new six-year plan for paving gravel roads and a new budget for the upcoming fiscal year received the nod from the Board of Supervisors at the Tuesday, June 27, 2023 meeting. The Board met at the Botetourt County Administration Building at Greenfield in Amsterdam.

After a public hearing, the Supervisors approved a new priority list for road paving from fiscal year 2024 to 2029. The new priority list is:

1. Route 646, Back Creek Lane (already underway)

2. Route 645, Fringer Trail

3. Route 712, Stevens

4. Route 685, Ball Park Road

5. Route 643, Mountain Valley Road

6. Route 658, Laymantown Road

7. Route 677, Roy Road

8. Route 638, Old Hollow Road

9. Route 728, Redbud Lane

10. Route 600, Haymakertown Road

11. Route 767, Blue Ridge Drive

12. Town of Fincastle One-Way Street

Funding for these roads over the next six years amounts to about $3.6 million. This includes a telefee and state funding.

The Supervisors also approved a $129.9 million budget for fiscal year 2024. The budget reflects an anticipated 18.4 % decrease in revenues and an 18.4% decrease in expenditures. The change is mostly due to the inclusion of $30 million in bond proceeds for the new courthouse in last year’s budget.

An unchanged tax rate also received the Supervisors approval. Tax rates remain as follows (per $100 value):

Personal Property $ 2.71

Machinery & Tools $ 1.80

Mobile Homes $ 0.79

Real Estate $ 0.79

Motor Homes $ 2.71

Wind Farms $ 0.99

The Supervisors also approved the fiscal year 2024 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). The CIP, which is for planning purposes only for the years 2025 onward, indicates plans county leaders would like to see in the future. Those plans include tennis courts and soccer fields at Greenfield, a park with a public boat launch in Eagle Rock, building maintenance, creation of a “tech park” at the Botetourt Center at Greenfield for science and technology businesses, and other developments.

                                                                           — Anita Firebaugh, Special to The Botetourt Bee