by Jackie Nunnery
HEATHSVILLE—During a Thursday, May 28, public hearing, Northumberland supervisors received pushback from residents regarding a potential 21% increase in property taxes.
If approved, it would be the third straight year of tax increases. A $0.08 (12%) increase was levied for the 2025 calendar year and a $0.05 (8%) for 2024.
The current budget stands at $51,596,284 and increase of $5,494,163 or 12%. Local revenues are up 18%, largely driven by the proposed increase in real property taxes. The increase in revenue is largely meant to increase an undesignated fund balance as recommended by Davenport & Co.
Sam Guthrie of Walmsley said he is “shocked” at the proposed increase. “I come here as somebody that’s dealt with budgets from 5 million to 8 billion dollars. You’re looking at increasing your budget 12% and that’s a lot of money for one year. From my 28 years of experience, you have no control over spending, no restraint, no accountability internally or externally….
