Surry County supervisors voted 3-2 on Oct. 3 to approve an alternate plan for twice-a-year tax billing, though some farmers say they’ll still be adversely affected by the change.

Under the adopted ordinance, personal property taxes on cars and other vehicles will be due in full by June 5. Real estate, machinery and tools, and business equipment taxes will remain due by Dec. 5.

The ordinance specifies that for the 2025 tax year, the June 5 due date will be extended to Sept. 5.

A previous proposal had called for residents to owe half their annual taxes – including real estate, personal property, machinery and tools and business equipment – on June 5, and the remaining half on Dec. 5. 

Glenn Slade, a farmer from Surry’s Bacon’s Castle District, was one of more than a dozen opposition speakers at a Sept. 12 public hearing on the original proposal. Slade, at that time, contended he’s only able to pay his county taxes after he receives the proceeds from the sale of crops he harvests in the fall. At an Oct. 3 hearing on the revised ordinance, he said he will still need to borrow more money than he normally would to pay operating expenses at the start of each farming season to meet the new June 5 deadline for personal property taxes.

“This is why most taxes were paid in December, because farmers only have money coming in after they harvested crops,” Slade said.

Michael Drewry, another farmer and husband of Dendron District Supervisor Amy Drewry, said the revision since Sept. 12 “does not solve the issue for landowners and farmers.”

“Farmers pay landowners in November,” Drewry said. “It’s just simple. Landowners pay the personal property and real property taxes in December. Both taxes are paid from farm rent. To pay the personal property taxes in June, the landowner will still need to request the farmer pay half of the land rent in June. This is the same issue as last month.”

Others said they believed the change was sufficient to avoid harming farmers.

“I thank you for coming up with the compromise because this kind of alleviates something from the farmers, but it also gives something to the people who want it,” said county resident Sharná White.

Susan Corvello of the Claremont District handed supervisors a petition she said contained the names of more than 150 residents from all of the county’s voting districts in opposition to the latest revision to the billing schedule, which Surry District SupervisorTimothy Calhoun and Dendron District Supervisor Amy Drewry each referenced among their reasons for casting dissenting votes.

Calhoun made a motion to reject the latest ordinance change, seconded by Drewry, but the motion failed with “no” votes from board Chairman Robert Elliott, Carsley District Supervisor Breyon Pierce and Bacon’s Castle District Supervisor Walter Hardy.

A subsequent motion by Calhoun to table the matter past Oct. 20 also failed along the same split.

“We have had 150 signatures here, we’ve had an overwhelming majority of people at this hearing and at the previous board meeting to comment that they are opposed to this, that this will hurt a large contingent of citizens, and hurting a large contingent of citizens for what? For convenience?” Drewry asked, rhetorically.

According to County Administrator Melissa Rollins, the proposed change to twice-a-year billing originated as a means of easing the burden on residents who, in addition to the cost of Christmas and other December holidays, currently owe the full tax burden for the year that same month.

“From the onset, the intent was to help citizens. That’s it. Period,” said Hardy, who made the motion to adopt the revised billing ordinance that Pierce seconded. “No one at this table has anything to gain by this. It’s purely per the request of citizens, maybe not all, obviously not all.”