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1. What is the amount of the County’s budget and what does it include?

The total county budget adopted by the Board of Supervisors for Fiscal Year 2019 to 2020 is $462,618,662. This includes all transfers between funds and provides for general government services (police, fire / rescue, refuse collection, parks and recreation, social services, etc.); schools; capital projects; and debt service payments. After eliminating transfers, $344,244,336 represents cash expenditures for all county goods and services. These expenditures are funded with revenues derived from taxes, fees, user charges, reimbursed costs, and state / federal allocations. The General Government Budget for Fiscal Year 2019 to 2020 is $196,940,493, which represents the operating budget portion for all county services.

2. How are property tax assessments set by the county?

County property taxes are based on current market values. They are generally conceived to be an ad valorem tax, which means that a tax levy is apportioned among taxpayers according to the values of property change annually. The best way to assess current market value is to conduct annual property assessments.

3. Does the Board of Supervisors approve expenditures for county schools?

The Roanoke County School Board approves and has oversight of the school budget. While the county Board of Supervisors determines the total amount of local tax dollars spent on education (via transfers to schools), the school board is responsible for allocating these funds to individual programs in the school system. State law dictates that the county Board of Supervisors must approve the School Board's budget as part of the county's annual budget process.