Abby Whitt
Contributing writer
Montgomery County Board of Supervisors heard two presentations last week from Deputy County Administrator Chris Lawrence, and both projects were approved to move forward.
One of the presentations was in regard to incentives for volunteer first responders. Two current incentives for volunteers include a waived county licensing fee ($27.50) for one vehicle owned by a volunteer and a $100 per year incentive.
The presentation proposed a $500 personal property tax deduction for a single vehicle owned by each volunteer that is eligible to receive incentives, which Lawrence said was a “good number, a respectable number.”
The state does not set incentives for volunteers within each county, but it does set standards for such measures and lays out who is eligible: active volunteers who respond to calls or participate in other agency duties, such as treasury, Lawrence said.
“Ultimately, [the board] would need to make a second decision, which creates the actual category in the tax structure for the reduction,” Lawrence said.
The incentive would only apply to county personal property tax, not towns individually. Lawrence said that Christiansburg has a personal property tax while Blacksburg does not.
District A Supervisor Sara Bohn asked about how it would impact student volunteers, and Lawrence said, “If a parent owned the vehicle and it’s registered in Loudoun County, they would not qualify.”
Currently, 134 volunteers receive the $27.50 incentive, and if every volunteer got the max incentive of $500, it would be about $67,000 not received. Lawrence said it’s not an expense to the county, but a “lack of revenue that would come in.”
“That’s another advantage to this, we’re not paying out any cash, we’re just reducing that tax burden for certain people,” he said.
District B Supervisor Derek Kitts asked if it would be possible to consider a higher incentive.
“I want to make sure that the volunteers know they are appreciated,” he said. “One of the biggest problems we’ve had is trying to get an incentive that went across the county, to the towns, and I think this is a great incentive tool to use, and I would like to see us use it at $750 or at least to explore where it would be at that.”
Supervisor Anthony Grafsky of District E agreed with Kitts’ recommendation and said that “bringing the incentive up may be more in-line with vehicle values.”
The other presentation by Lawrence on May 27 revolved around the temporary addition of a standalone bunkhouse at Elliston Fire Department, which would allow for 24/7 staffing at the station.
Constant staffing at the station is included in the fiscal year 2026 budget, and a lack of overnight accommodations could delay implementing that coverage, Lawrence said.
“Our general services staff has worked diligently at looking at what our options are, and have come up with… Basically you can buy a bunkhouse – it’s a double-wide, manufactured unit…” which, Lawrence said, could be placed to the right of the main station.
The bunkhouse would sleep 12 people, have two communal bathrooms, a kitchen, laundry area and lounge area. Manufacture and delivery would take between 60 and 90 days, and it would cost the county $330,000 to purchase and complete work on the site.
Lawrence said that purchasing the bunkhouse would allow the county to use it on other projects if needed and possibly rent it out to surrounding counties.
Both projects were approved to move forward by consensus.
The Board also unanimously approved a transfer of capital funds totaling $430,346 to Montgomery County Public Schools and a budget amendment to address overtime expenses, (some related to Hurricane Helene, Lawrence said), as well as special leaves and station renovations in Elliston.
Lawrence said the county is “on-track to exceed our revenue recovery,” which includes transport fees through the ambulance service.
“We expected about $100,000, and at this point in the year we’re at about $330,000, so we have the additional revenue that’s already come in,” Lawrence said.
