James City County has refunded $2.9 million to Busch Gardens following an appeal of how the amusement park is taxed.
The amusement park appealed to the state in 2021 to have its property’s classification changed from personal property to real estate. The appeal was granted in 2024 by the state tax commissioner, who required the county to refund personal property taxes that were paid from 2017 to 2024.
County Treasurer Jennifer Tomes told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that a check for $2.9 million was issued in December.
According to a presentation to the supervisors, Busch Gardens asserted that the county’s commissioner of revenue classified its property as personal property when it should have been real estate. The amusement park also claimed that the count invoiced the property “at incorrect amounts or in periods for property the taxpayer no longer owned” and continued to bill while the appeal was going on.
The county calculated the different between real estate taxes and personal property taxes to come up with the $2.9 million figure owed to Busch Gardens.
Going forward, though, it appears that Busch Gardens will be paying the county more in taxes — about $2.6 million more a year. According to Finance Director Sharon McCarthy, the county discounts personal property by 75% until the property is sold or disposed of — and taxes the property at a rate of $4 dollars per $100 dollars of assessed value.
Real estate taxes are calculated at 100% of fair market value based on the county’s real estate tax rate of 83 cents per $100 of assessed value. The county hired a vendor to assess Busch Gardens’ property as real estate.
County Administrator Scott Stevens said Tuesday that conversations are still ongoing with Busch Gardens, but that the refund should settles things for the county.
“We believe this is fair and what we’ve done is the right thing,” Stevens said.
Also on Tuesday, the county also detailed its fiscal year 2027-31 capital improvement plan. Project requests are currently estimated at about $487.3 million.
Capital projects in the plan includes a 30,000-square-foot expansion for the Williamsburg-James City County Courthouse, estimated at $4 million, and a new 10,000-square-foot library for the Grove community for $10 million.
Requests for the Williamsburg-James City County school division are also included in the CIP, including renovations to the central office. The plan features a Career and Technical Center expansion at Warhill High School estimated at about $11.4 million. The expansion would add six to 10 classrooms to the school. Renovations for the central office are estimated at $1.26 million, which would be primarily funded by the county.
Stevens said supervisors will be asked to help prioritize project requests during their retreat, which was rescheduled to Feb. 12 due to the winter weather. Stevens said his proposed budget will be released at the end of March.
James W. Robinson, 757-799-0621, james.robinson@virginiamedia.com
