King George County is facing the same pain in the wallet as everyone else whoâs recently bought lumber at a home improvement store.
The cost of building materials has gone through the roof, as it were, after lumberyards either shut down during the pandemic or their supply chains were disrupted. The issues caused lumber prices to rise by 130 percent in the last year, according to the National Association of Home Builders, which estimates the cost of single-family homes has gone up by an average of more than $16,000.
King George Board of Supervisors Chair Annie Cupka talks about impact on rising building costs on KG courthouse
One member of a new working group formed to look at diversity issues in King George is asking county officials once again to remove a Confederate monument from the courthouse lawn.
Any such object âhonoring the Confederacy endorses racism,â said Robert Ashton, one of three members of the new Diversity Advisory Committee and the vice president of the King George chapter of the NAACP. He wondered why surrounding counties have taken action to remove symbols of the Confederacy âyet King George is reluctant to do so.â
âIt appears to me that we have not grown as we say we have,â he said during Tuesdayâs Board of Supervisorsâ meeting. âMy question is, do King George leaders want to preserve a past of oppression for people of color or move forward in unity for all its citizens?â
For a while Tuesday night, it looked like the King George County Board of Supervisors might lower the proposed real estate tax rate increase by a penny as board members favored reducing the local money given to schools.
But in the end, the fear of economic uncertainty propelled the board to move forward with a 3-cent increase, which would bring the real estate tax rate to 73 cents per $100 of assessed value. The rate is the lowest in the Fredericksburg area, and the supervisors are scheduled to approve itâand the countyâs $97.4 million budgetâon May 4.
Developing a county spending plan is difficult at the best of times, but King George faced several obstacles in addition to the biggest concern: the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic. County Administrator Neiman Young left in February, and Travis Quesenberry, who had served in that post before 2016 when he went back to being county engineer, stepped in to fill the void until a new county administrator is found. King Ge
King George s proposed budget includes $4 million from new cigarette tax fredericksburg.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from fredericksburg.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.