The Patrick County Board of Supervisors adopted its Fiscal Year 2025–26 budget and approved a 1% increase to the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) at its Tuesday, May 27, meeting.
The board approved the $76,020,616 budget in a 3–2 vote. Chairman Jonathan Wood, of the Peters Creek District; Steve Marshall, of the Blue Ridge District; and Doug Perry, of the Smith River District, voted in favor. Vice Chairman Andrew Overby, of the Dan River District, and Clayton Kendrick, of the Mayo River District, voted against.
The approximately $126,676 budget deficit will be covered using the county’s reserve funds.
Before approving the budget, the board voted unanimously to reduce its contribution to the Patrick County Education Foundation (PCEF) for the Patrick Promise by $15,000.
The board also approved increasing the TOT from 5% to 6% in a 3–2 vote. Perry, Overby, and Wood supported the motion, while Marshall and Kendrick opposed it.
When people visit the county, Perry said he knows they expect a certain level of Emergency Medical Services (EMS).
“And we do need to keep our parks and recreation for tourists to have something to come back to,” he said before making the motion to increase the tax by 1%.
Overby asked how much revenue the 1% increase would generate. County Administrator Beth Simms said approximately $140,000.
Overby then seconded the motion.
Later in the meeting, Commissioner of Revenue Glennda Morse noted that since the TOT is collected on a calendar-year basis, the county would not receive the full $140,000 in the current fiscal year.
Simms estimated the TOT would generate approximately $70,000 in FY2026 and $140,000 in subsequent years.
Wood agreed with Perry, saying visitors use many county services.
“I know we’ve talked about some of those. I know the Sheriff’s Department had to help lost people more than once—people getting injured out there doing different things,” he said.
Wood added that TOT rates have never influenced his travel decisions.
Perry noted that local volunteer fire departments and the ropes team recently hiked about a mile into the woods and down a cliff to rescue someone.
“The ropes team’s equipment is expensive. A lot of times you don’t get a lot of uses out of it because as soon as it starts to wear it becomes unsafe for rescue. I know they pull from the general fund to support that,” he said.
Overby said he doesn’t think the 1% increase would deter visitors.
“Like you (Wood) said, I don’t pay any attention when I go places. Quite frankly, ours is still very small compared to what it is in other localities, especially places that have a lot of tourism. You know, it’s not uncommon to find places with 13–14 percent, so I don’t think it’s going to make much of a difference,” he said.
Perry said the biggest trend he’s seeing is increasing parking fees.
“I had a friend that got back from someplace—they were charged, I want to say, $20 a night to park at a hotel they were already staying at,” he said.
Marshall said that while he agreed with the need for additional revenue, he disagreed with increasing the TOT as the method.
“I think the effect this would have, in contrast with the effect it would have on tourism, just doesn’t pan out for me,” he said.
In other matters, the board:
*Approved keeping the personal property tax rate the same in a 5–0 vote. The motion was made by Overby and seconded by Marshall.
*Awarded the 2027 general real estate reassessment contract to Vision/Wampler-Eanes.
*Awarded a contract for repairing the Patrick County Jail HVAC to Handy Rentals, with the provision that if Handy is unable to match the warranty offered by Vipperman Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Inc., the contract will be awarded to Vipperman. Since Handy has since withdrawn its bid, Vipperman will be awarded the contract.
*Approved a contract with Triangle Electric for HVAC and electrical system upgrades at the Patrick County Circuit Court.
