County property tax rate set

By Eddie West

Staff Writer

There will not be a county property tax rate increase this year.

County commissioners approved a 2026-2027 fiscal year county budget and a state certified property tax rate of $1.3023 during a special called meeting held last Monday (August 10) night.

During the meeting, commissioners also set the school system’s budget at $35 million. 

“The figure is halfway between the board of education’s revenue projection of $33 million and its proposed expenditures of $37 million,” says Budget and Finance Committee Chairman Connor McDonald.

Also, during the meeting commissioners agreed to call for a referendum which would raise the county’s sales rate from 2 percent to 2.75 percent in unincorporated areas and South Carthage. Gordonsville and Carthage already has a 2.75 percent sales tax rate. 

By calling for the referendum, residents are expected to vote on the sales tax increase come November of this year. The referendum will be held in conjunction with the State General Election and city elections in Carthage and Gordonsville.

“South Carthage (which has a two percent sales tax rate) would be affected by the rate change. Carthage and Gordonsville are already at the 2.75 percent rate, so nothing changes there, meaning no change to grocery bills at SavWay or Walmart inside those city limits,” McDonald explains. “The increase only applies to South Carthage and areas outside city limits. As County Attorney Jeremy Hassler noted (Monday night), the numbers we’ve received from the state show no negative impact to revenue for the cities of Carthage or Gordonsville. It’s also worth noting that sales tax revenue is the only way the county collects tax dollars from non-residents. That idea was originally brought up by a school board member at their last meeting and the commission agreed it was a sound approach. Both bodies worked together on this piece. If approved, a minimum of half of the sales tax revenue would go to the school system, likely in the range of $450,000 to $500,000.”

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