Alleghany County supervisors are proposing a $73.6 million budget that doesn't raise taxes, but which will increase fees for water and sewer service.

The county avoided budget cuts and was able to maintain funding to schools, county departments, and non-governmental agencies. Increased local tax revenues and a fund balance of about $18 million made it possible. "It helps to know you've got that kind of cushion," Susan Myers, the county's financial systems analyst, said of the $18 million fund balance that took about 30 years to build.

"Still, if we hadn't projected an increase in taxes, mostly due to increased assessments, it would have been a much harder budget year and some much harder decisions would have had to be made."

Real estate taxes will remain at 66 cents per $100 of assessed value.

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