Albemarle Supervisors briefed on changes to tax relief program

There are less than two months before Albemarle County Executive Jeffrey Richardson will release his recommended budget for the fiscal year that begins on July 1. To provide direction for the document, the Board of Supervisors held a series of work sessions in late 2023 on the financial five-year plan. 

The final of these sessions was held on December 13, 2023 and elected officials were asked to provide direction on property tax relief for the elderly and disabled as well as the general future of the county’s fire and rescue plan. 

Supervisors began with the first item. Albemarle has had average property assessment increases of 8.4 percent in 2022 and 13.46 percent in 2023. The values for 2024 will be released soon. 

“The criteria currently for the program requires that applicants be at least 65 years old or totally and permanently disabled as medically determined,” said Andy Bowman is the interim assistant chief financial officer for policy and partnerships. “Applicants need to be the title holder of the property and that property may not be used as a business.” 

Bowman said there are also eligibility thresholds as well and pay-outs are based on a sliding scale. Last April, Albemarle increased the income criteria and increased the net worth cap from $200,000 to $250,000. That had the effect of bringing in 17 new eligible applicants for the program, at a cost of $40,000. 

There is a total of $1.845 million in the adopted budget for this fiscal year, a 24.7 percent increase from FY23.  

In an effort to support more Albemarle property owners who may be struggling to pay growing tax bills, Bowman presented options for further relief for Supervisors to consider. One option would be to increase the net worth cap to $305,000. At least two Supervisors agreed to that increase with some suggesting that perhaps only annual income should be used as a criteria. 

Supervisor Ann Mallek said when she joined the Board of Supervisors in 2008, the budget for the program was $900,000. 

“The difficulty was that so few people knew about it and that we were missing huge numbers of people who just didn’t have access to this and they absolutely deserved it,” Mallek said. 

Mallek did not support the idea of having a cap on the total amount of relief. 

Bowman said if the amount of relief exceeded the budget, the difference would most likely come out of the Board’s reserve fund. Supervisor Ned Gallaway said with that in mind, he would also not support a total cap. 

“I think the relief needs to be predictable,” Gallaway said. “I think that’s just a critical component of it I think year in year out.” 

Supervisors also urged staff to find ways to tie tax relief to structures referred to as “Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing.” 

Staff will return to the Board with more information on changes to the program when the budget is released in late February. 

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