Although final revenue figures are still weeks away, and the next fiscal year doesn't begin until July, Roanoke County officials say they are facing the most challenging budget preparations in recent memory.

Real estate values are essentially flat, up only a fraction of a percent, according to a report released to the board of supervisors on Friday.

Residential homeowners will see an average increased value of 0.52 percent on their property, said Billy Driver, the county's director of real estate valuation.

A house that was assessed at $150,000 last year would have risen to $150,780, and its taxes would be up $8.50 a year at the current rate of $1.09 per $100 value.

The total value of all county real estate, also including new commercial and residential construction, rose only 1.02 percent to just more than $8 billion, Driver said, the smallest increase in more than 25 years. The higher values should mean just over $1 million in new tax revenues for the county.

Several other taxes are down, and the county faces an almost certain reduction in state aid for the next fiscal year.

Relatively low unemployment and mortgage rates helped keep home sales alive during the past year -- almost 1,000 changed hands at a median price of $193,000, Driver said. And a foreclosure rate of one in every 247 houses, about half the national average, helped keep prices from falling.

However, declines in other taxes, such as those on sales, meals and motel rooms, combined with stagnation in other revenue sources, essentially negate the potential real estate tax increases, said Brent Robertson, the county's director of management and budget.

At least two veteran supervisors say they cannot anticipate any circumstances under which they would support any tax increases during the coming year -- so that could mean that county leaders will have to trim the budget instead.

Tax rates will not be set until spring, but Hollins Supervisor Richard Flora said Friday, "speaking for myself, I cannot support a tax increase this year when times are as tough as they are, even though we are losing revenue" from the state and other sources.

Flora, who also is the Craig County administrator, and Vinton Supervisor Mike Altizer both said the real estate values came in about where they thought they would be.

But Flora said he expects the big hit to come in "a pretty good drop in state revenue, not just for schools but for supporting the constitutional officers, the police" and other offices.

Altizer, who also closed the door on a tax increase, was somewhat more optimistic about the county's ability to deal with fewer state dollars, but acknowledged "it's going to be tough."

"The way we've positioned ourselves over the last three, four or five years, we've done a lot of things, but we've been cautious about building an unappropriated balance and positioned ourselves for tough times," Altizer said.

"We'll not have the hardships some other localities are having ... I think we have to be cautious, looking to make cuts where we can, maybe having some leaner departments," he said, but protecting public safety positions.

Altizer noted that the county has eliminated some jobs -- including two of four assistant county administrators.

He said his biggest concern is how state funding cuts could affect education, which he thinks could amount to an additional multimillion-dollar slashing of funds to the county's schools.

"By mid-March we'll know where the state is heading, where they're going to cut, and that still gives us a month to make adjustments," Altizer said.

By then, the county's finance officials may have a better handle on where the economy is heading, as well, Robertson said.

"Some economists may say in a few months that the recession is ended," Robertson said, but he noted that many of the county's revenue sources -- such as personal property taxes -- may not rebound for months or years after that.

Nevertheless, he can't suppress an upbeat outlook. "There's been a lot of volatility over the past year," he said, "but we think we'll still end up" with a small surplus of about $250,000 in the county's $188 million general fund budget at the fiscal year's end.