HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- Henrico County is in a 'strong financial position' following two years of decision-making during the pandemic, according to county leaders.
On Thursday morning, in a room full of leaders from across Henrico, county manager John Vithoulkas reflected on some of those decisions.
“We cut the budget by $99 million going into COVID and that proved to be an absolutely right decision," Vithoulkas said. "But we also kept our promises, holding our real estate tax rate steady and delivering another phase of business tax relief. These actions allowed us to end the year with a record general fund balance of $413 million."
He also touted Henrico's ability to renovate some schools, build new ones, and expand some county sports complexes.
He also previewed a 2022 Henrico budget that will include tax reductions for homeowners.
"Real estate, two cents next year," he said. "We’re also running a surplus this year, for the first time looking at sending our residents a dividend back for the real estate payment taxes or a portion of the real estate taxes that they pay."
Vithoulkas said the county also planned to address top priorities and infrastructure needs in its November 2022 bond referendum. Those needs include improving firehouses, police training centers, schools, and expanding broadband internet, and adding parks across the county.
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