Henrico officials have been mum about the county's budget outlook until now, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

The county is facing more than a $20 million shortfall in real estate tax revenue, but the Finance Director says he does not expect any major budget revisions.

"Henrico County is facing a projected shortfall in real estate tax revenue of more than $20 million next year, but the county's top finance official is optimistic about the future.

Finance Director John A. Vithoulkas said yesterday that he expects a 6.5 percent decrease in county real estate tax revenues for the budget year that begins on July 1. The drop is likely to be steepest for commercial properties. He said up to one-third of the commercial office space in Innsbrook is vacant.

'Going back over 30 years, we have not seen anything like what we are seeing now in the real estate market,' Vithoulkas said during a town hall meeting last night at Maybeury Elementary School in western Henrico.

At the same time, however, Vithoulkas said, the county has been buffered from much more severe economic problems because of a sales tax windfall of up to $8 million a year from its decision to change a number of ZIP Code addresses from Richmond to Henrico.

He also said the county protected itself by capping spending during financially flush times."

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