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The tax rate has been set, the budget proposal outlined. Now it’s time for a public hearing, for residents to weigh in on the Town of Farmville’s plans. The public hearing for this year’s Farmville budget is scheduled for next Wednesday, beginning at 6 p.m.

The current proposed budget is for $43,367,489. That consists of $33,331,990 in the general fund; a total of $2,621,672 in the street maintenance fund; $3,176,458 in the water fund; $2,688,059 in the sewer fund; $1,159,745 in the transportation fund and $379,565 in the airport fund.

One of the biggest projects for this year’s budget involves the start of renovations for the Farmville firehouse. Built in 1991, there are no living quarters in the station. The women’s bathroom doesn’t have a shower, the firefighters sleep in the meeting room and do any decontamination in the apparatus bay. This renovation would mean building bunk rooms, shower rooms and laundry rooms. The gear would be stored in a separate room, one that’s constantly ventilated. 

This $11 million renovation would be done in phases. Phase One would involve building the support areas, then an expansion of the parking lot to the rear. This would allow the department to move supplies out of the existing building. Phase Two would involve developing the shell outside construction around the existing building. Once that’s done, you can finish the interior renovation, upgrade the apparatus bay and do any final paving. This is estimated at a 12-14 month project. The cost is projected at $11 million as mentioned, but the bond is set at $16 million to cover any future inflation or additional funding increases that pop up during construction. 

Using a loan

And then there’s the loan to discuss. Over the last four years, the Town of Farmville has approached the budget in a different way, taking out a loan to cover some costs. This is how they’ve been able to buy police cars and other needed equipment, staggering the payments over several years. 

In the general fund part of the proposed budget, town staff want to spend $956,000 to make a series of purchases. That includes $231,000 for five police cars; $75,000 for graphics and outfitting for those cars; $60,000 for a new emergency medical services (EMS) vehicle; $25,000 to outfit the EMS vehicle; $180,000 for a tractor/mower to mow the right-of-way on the street; $80,000 for a pickup with a lift gate; $225,000 for a dump truck and $80,000 for a ¾ ton utility truck. The tractor mower is one of the major needs, Davis said in the April budget discussion, as the current one has a 20-year-old clutch that could go out at any time.

The town doesn’t have the cash to do all of that right now. But they can afford it stretched out over a five-year period, with payments not starting until next year. This loan would be paid back over a period of three to five years. That timeframe depends on the final terms received from the bank. Once the loan is fully repaid, any liens on the equipment, such as the police vehicles and other purchases, will be released. 

Again, one key part of this is while the loan is part of the budget and has to be approved as such, no part of the $956,000 will be paid during this upcoming budget cycle. 

“The (Fiscal Year 2026) budget does not include any repayment for this loan,” Davis told The Herald. “Payments typically begin in the fiscal year following the loan’s approval and closing.”

So in other words, it’ll be this time next year that you hear council members discussing making the first payment in this latest loan. The town staff can’t say what the interest rate will be yet, because the loan hasn’t been officially put out to bid to banks. 

But this is why, when council members have brought up postponing purchases of the police cars or trucks, town staff has said that wouldn’t reduce this year’s overall budget. We don’t start paying for all of these vehicles until next year. The goal is to avoid ending up like some other towns and cities in Virginia, which kept putting off infrastructure and equipment purchases until it got so big they had to make dramatic decisions to cover the cost.

Along with that, the budget includes a request to allow a promotion, turning the finance director position into a deputy town manager role, and a request from the fire department to add a full-time firefighter position. 

Where will Farmville budget hearing take place?

The hearing is set for Wednesday, May 14, starting at 6 p.m. That’ll be held in the council chamber of the Farmville Town Hall, located at 116 N. Main Street.