Gloucester supervisors approved the county’s budget and set the tax levies for FY 2023 at a meeting Monday night in the colonial courthouse.
The total budget comes in at $210,025,931. In the budget, school operating fund is set at $71,398,259. Capital Project Funds total $74,005,370. The public safety budget was set at $18,150,466. Social Services received $6,098,583. Debt servicing accounts for $5,889.360.
The approved budget is built around a 3¢ increase to Gloucester’s real estate tax which was approved, 5-2. The rate hike brings the tax from 69.5¢ per $100 of assessed real property value to 72.5¢.
The key aspect of the budget is that it provides raises for both county and school employees, thanks to the increase in the real estate tax. County employees will get a 5.6 percent pay raise while school employees will see a 5.9 percent pay hike.
The issue of the real estate tax increase caused many Gloucester residents to comment either in person or through email. Though a number were in...