Prince Edward residents started getting their notices back in January. Cumberland and Lunenburg took a little bit longer, but residents in those areas also have the information by now. While reassessment is finished in those counties, with the data available for budget work and tax rates set, that hasn’t happened here in Charlotte County. As for why? It’s due to the contracted firm not reading the agreement correctly. 

“When we signed a contract last year to have the reassessment done, the contract specified that was supposed to be done by Dec. 31, 2024, so the board would have time to look at equalization, what that rate would look like, the additional taxes for schools, rescue squad,” said Charlotte County Administrator Dan Witt. Speaking to the board at their Feb. 18 meeting, Witt explained that Pearsons, the firm he had contracted with to handle the reassessment, got the due date wrong. 

“December 31 came and went and I emailed Pearsons and they said no, we’re not supposed to have that done to you until May,” Witt said. “I sent them a copy of the contract, they looked at it, they apologized. It was an oversight on their part.”

Now February has come and gone. Witt has said the firm promised to have all the data turned over to the county by this Saturday, March 15. That will give county staff time to go over the numbers and provide the information needed so the board of supervisors can discuss and set the tax rate. But that will likely take until at least April to complete, if not May at this point. Then, with public hearings and everything else required, it’s likely Charlotte County won’t be able to adopt a budget until late June. 

More changes for Charlotte County

That’s not the only change when it comes to the budget. As we report on another part of this front page, solar projects here in Charlotte County are having to deal with a schedule change. Originally, these projects had been set to connect to an existing 115 kv line. However, after a recent study was done, it was discovered that 115 kv line wouldn’t be able to handle any of the planned projects in Charlotte County, from County Line Solar to Tall Pines Solar to Courthouse Solar. 

How does that affect the budget? Well, construction on the new 230 KV line won’t start until September and as such, that pushes back both the timeline for each solar project and the date when each will be able to contribute/is required under contract to contribute through revenue sharing to the Charlotte County budget. So all funds expected from those projects will have to be pushed back to the 2026 budget cycle. 

Meanwhile, discussions over the budget will continue over the next few weeks. A joint budget work session between supervisors and the Charlotte County school board is set for Tuesday, March 18. That’ll start at 6 p.m. at Central Middle School’s library.