Spotsylvania supervisors look at a vehicle fee increase instead of a $50 convenience center permit

Spotsylvania County is moving away from a proposed $50 yearly permit and hangtag that residents would have needed to use the county landfill and its 13 convenience centers. At the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 27, county staff, including County Administrator Ed Petrovitch, presented an alternative, and the board voted to hold a public hearing on raising the county's local vehicle license fee instead.

What would change

Spotsylvania currently charges a local vehicle license fee of $25 a year for cars and $15 for motorcycles, billed on the first-half tax bill, according to the county's vehicle license fee page. Under the alternative described at Tuesday's meeting, a household paying the fee on two vehicles would see that cost rise from $50 to $70, as The Free Lance-Star reported. The solid waste program itself would stay as it is, with each household eligible for up to two windshield decals for using the sites.

How it got here

Supervisors held a public hearing on the permit proposal on Oct. 13 and postponed a decision until Oct. 27 after several residents spoke against it. The permit was projected to bring in about $1.4 million a year. County staff said the current budget for fiscal year 2027 already counts on that money and on savings from changes to the refuse program, so turning down the code changes without a replacement would leave a gap of roughly that size, according to The Free Lance-Star.

Some changes are already in effect: convenience centers now close two days a week, and construction and demolition debris is no longer accepted there. Staff have projected savings of about $300,000 a year from the closures and about $350,000 a year from the debris limits.

What's next

A date for the public hearing on the vehicle fee has not been announced. Board agendas and meeting information are posted on the county's meeting agendas page.