FINCASTLE -- Botetourt County property owners are about to see some tax relief.

The Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to decrease the real estate tax rate from 70 to 65 cents per $100 of value.

Board members also voted at Tuesday's meeting to approve a $77.8 million budget.

Cutting the tax rate without decreasing the budget, according to a five-year financial forecast by finance manager Tony Zerrilla, could leave the county with a $2 million deficit in five years.

Board members also got their first look Tuesday at a proposal to expand and renovate the county's office space in Fincastle, a pricey endeavor at a time when the county must balance paying for several major projects including the new public safety building and renovations and additions to James River High School.

County property values increased an average of 26 percent in this year's reassessment. If the rate had not been lowered, county taxpayers would have realized an effective tax increase.

A taxpayer with a home valued at $100,000 will now pay $650; they would have paid $700 at the previous rate. The tax rate had not been cut since 1998, when the board slashed it from 75 to 70 cents.

That reduction took a bite out of the county's budget three years later, County Administrator Jerry Burgess reminded board members before Tuesday's vote.

"We were close to having the need to borrow money," he said.

Supervisor Don Meredith said he worried about the county's lower income residents in the Fincastle district who are trying to afford rising gasoline costs, many of whom commute to Roanoke for work.

Supervisor Don Assaid argued for reducing the tax rate by 10 cents along with cutting the budget.

He said he believes the county should move forward with capital projects that, in addition to the public safety facility and work at James River High, include costs for a Fincastle sewage treatment facility and a transport station to truck trash out of the county.

Assaid argued that a plan to extend a road at Botetourt Center at Greenfield as well as long-range plans for libraries and recreation in the county should be put on hold until the county can afford it without raising taxes.

"Something has got to give, and I think it ought to be something other than taxpayers," he said.

To reduce the $45.7 million the school requested from the county, Assaid advocated cutting a new position for an elementary school guidance counselor and a plan to add 90 minutes to the time school nurses work each day.

"I'm wondering when we got away from basic education to being a full-time medical center," he said.

The supervisors voted 4-1 in favor of reducing the tax rate and approving the budget. Both times Assaid cast the dissenting vote.

The supervisors moved from their meeting space in the Old General Courthouse to a room in the Circuit Courthouse during lunchtime to hear ideas from Fincastle architect Bill Bowling for new office spaces for county services, something county administrators say is desperately needed to relieve overcrowding, and provide better customer service and parking to taxpayers who come to Fincastle to do things such as get a building permit.

Among his ideas: demolishing the current jail when it's moved to the new public safety building in the fall of 2007 and replacing it with a new building for office space that would include a bridge to the Old District Courthouse, making it handicapped accessible.

The next step, Burgess said, would be putting a price tag on the proposal.

Board Chairwoman Wendy Wingo asked what it would cost to build a completely new building outside of Fincastle, a move that would likely affect the vitality of the town, something that caused board member Terry Austin to balk.

He also questioned whether the timing was wrong for such a project, pointing to the discussion earlier in the morning about tightening purse strings.

"Keep in mind our fund balance in '09 or '10," he said.