Southampton County supervisors take straw vote to cut real‑estate rate to 71¢, propose $633,000 school reduction

The Southampton County Board of Supervisors, meeting in public on May 21, took a nonbinding straw vote to reduce the proposed real‑estate tax rate to 71 cents per $100 of assessed value, cut the county’s planned school allocation by $633,000, and raise the personal‑property tax rate to $5.

The measures were advanced as a package in a board member motion and passed by a roll‑call straw vote. Committee member (S4) moved the package; Committee member (S1) seconded. The board indicated a majority in support during the roll call; the vote was recorded as a nonbinding straw vote pending formal action later in the budget calendar.

Officials said the adjustments aim to balance competing pressures: the county is implementing a reassessment that would otherwise raise property tax bills, while a substantial share of the county’s anticipated revenue depends on taxes from Enviva, a large local employer whose future the board described as uncertain. "We're making a mistake if we set this rate too high and things don't work out," Committee member (S6) told colleagues, urging caution on relying on one revenue source. Staff (S8) said the county will keep about $849,960 from Enviva in fiscal year 2025 after a 50% contract rebate on expansion machinery and tools.

Board members and residents debated alternatives. Several supervisors and residents argued the board could raise the voluntary personal‑property tax — which officials proposed moving from roughly $4.70 toward $5 — to shift some burden off landowners, while others urged preserving revenue in a stabilization reserve in case a major taxpayer leaves. "Every penny in the real‑estate rate is $216,000 to the county," a board member noted during the discussion.

Public comments at the hearing emphasized reassessment impacts and local affordability. Resident Hunter Darden III said reassessments had produced increases ‘‘more than 45%’’ in many cases and cited guidance saying local governing bodies should lower levies to produce no more than 101% of prior‑year revenue after reassessment. Resident Betsy Wegman, a retired teacher, urged improved schools to attract industry and questioned some salary levels, saying the superintendent "is making over $200,000." Residents also pressed the board to pursue new industrial prospects to broaden the tax base.

Staff and legal counsel clarified the process. A county staff member and counsel explained that state law allows the board to set a rate above the 101% revenue level only after advertising and holding a separate public hearing; the board scheduled that hearing for May 29 and set a June 4 meeting to adopt the final budget.

The straw vote does not finalize the budget. Officials said the May 29 hearing will consider any proposed tax‑rate increase tied to the reassessment and the board will formally consider and adopt the budget at a later meeting, currently scheduled for June 4.