The Revenue Sharing Agreement is legally binding and must remain in effect until one of the following occurs:

• The City and County are consolidated or otherwise combined into a single political subdivision, or
• The concept of independent cities is altered by state law in such manner that real property in the City becomes part of the County tax base, or
• The City and County agree to cancel or change the agreement.

General property taxes are based on the assessed value of real and personal property owned by businesses, individuals, and public service corporations. Real estate reassessments in Albemarle County are done on an annual basis. Property is assessed at 100% of fair market value as required by Virginia law. The assessed value is used to calculate property taxes, which are the product of the assessed value and the tax rate, with tax rates being established annually by the Board of Supervisors. Both real and personal property are assessed at 100% valuation with tax rates applied per $100 of assessed value. Real estate and personal property taxes are paid in 2 installments due June 5 and December 5. General property taxes consist of real estate, personal property, mobile home, and machinery and tools taxes.

The County’s Recommended and Adopted Budgets, both current and for past years, are available for review on the County’s website.

Hard copies of the budget documents are available in the County Executive's Office and local libraries starting with FY 18 for public viewing.

Unfunded mandates are instances where the state or federal government establishes laws and/or regulations that require the County to incur costs that are not reimbursed by the state or federal government.

For more information about the County’s budget or budget process, email your comments and questions regarding the budget to budget@albemarle.org.

The local government Five-Year Financial Plan is a long-term planning tool that provides the Board of Supervisors with reasonable projections for the next five years. These projections allow the Board to provide staff with direction on their long-range goals and priorities. The Five-Year Financial Plan is based on a set of assumptions about how the County’s revenues and expenditures are likely to change over time, based on the best information available at the time the Plan is reviewed.

The Revenue Sharing Agreement requires that the County and the City both make an annual contribution to a Revenue and Economic Growth Sharing Fund. The contribution to the fund is defined by a formula based on the City and County populations, “true real property tax rates” as determined by the Virginia Department of Taxation, and the assessed value of real property.

Based on this Revenue Sharing Agreement formula, the County has been required to pay the City a revenue sharing amount each year since 1983. The revenue sharing payment in FY20 is projected to be $14.2 million.

The Revenue Sharing Agreement was entered by Albemarle County and the City of Charlottesville in 1982. This agreement was reached in return for total immunity from any annexation attempts by the City. At that time, the City was proposing a significant annexation of County territory at that time to increase the City tax base.

The County’s Strategic Plan establishes goals and timelines that respond to community priorities. The Plan informs the County’s budgeting process. Specific actions, programs, capital investments, staffing requirements, and funding levels have been developed in response to the needs identified in the Strategic Plan.

Our Fiscal Year begins July 1 and runs through June 30 of the following calendar year.