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thomas8266 t1_j9t7i3p wrote

so do counties just keep this extra income? Because our tax bill nearly doubled over the past year or two, and I assume most property bills increased quite a bit due to house prices going nuts.

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CarlCasper t1_j9tlekd wrote

Property taxes were 9% higher in FY22, which is about double the normal rate of increase. And they are on track for the same increase this year which is substantial. However, Education got an almost 12% bump last year and is budgeted for almost 8% this year, and the property tax rate was chipped down from %0.87 to %0.85, which I know is not a lot in the grand scheme of things, but I don't see Richmond or Chesterfield dropping their rates at all. And Henrico is still lower than both of them.

You can work through the previous budgets and actuals to see where the money is being spent, although only big buckets, not detail like salary vs. programming. I'm sure there is a lot of room for improvement, I know it sounds like I am defending Henrico, but it's not that so much as I have lived in all three of these areas, and I think that Henrico simply does a better job.

https://henrico.us/budget/past-approved-budgets/

Having said all that - op is smart to appeal this assessment. Something seems way off there.

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em6891 t1_j9t91o3 wrote

Oh I'm sure they found ways to spend it, probably not on the right things like increasing teacher salaries.

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bberin t1_j9tea3j wrote

To be fair, Henrico County did give a pretty substantial raise to teachers this past year, and I believe they have the highest teacher pay scale in the Richmond area.

….Of course, their pay scale is as clear as mud and our teachers are still underpaid for what they do, but small wins I guess?

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Prestigious_Laugh300 t1_j9tngr0 wrote

The referendum they had in recent election was spending on things like building new schools/parks/etc

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