Amelia Supervisors to reduce real property tax rate by 13 cents for 2023
Plus: Lynchburg will hold a meeting May 2 to continue reconciling FY24 budget
There are 24 localities in Virginia’s Fifth Congressional District. Many of the localities in the district are controlled by the Republican party. Congressman Bob Good won election to a second term in November with 57.57 percent of the votes cast. His Democratic opponent only won a majority in three of the districts.
This non-partisan newsletter was created in part to better understand the differences between how the two major parties govern. In both Albemarle County and Charlottesville, budget staff recommended keeping additional revenue from increased property assessments for government use.
That is not the case in Republican-led districts, where there is more distrust of the government. Today’s newsletter covers budgets in Amelia County and Lynchburg.
I don’t have the resources yet to do more than just preview meetings and list what others have reported. For now, there are no paid subscriptions through this newsletter, but you can either pledge future support or make a contribution through Patreon. I’m in this for the long haul as there is so much to report on.
Amelia Board Supervisors to adopt FY24 budget based on lower real property tax rate
The five-member Board of Supervisors in Amelia County will meet at 1 p.m. in the Amelia County Administration Conference Room. (meeting info)
The first item on the agenda is the adoption of the FY2024 budget. The $56,015,309 budget is nearly $11.4 million higher than the current year. That’s in part because of an increase in property assessments, like many other jurisdictions in the Fifth District. Revenues into the school fund also increased by nearly $2.63 million to just over $18 million in the draft budget.
Supervisors reduced the tax rate from $0.51 per $100 of assessed value to $0.38 per $100 of assessed value. The personal property tax rate did revert back to a rate of $4.15 per $100 of assessed value after a one-time reduction due to inflation in new and used vehicles.
The public hearing was held on April 19. The Amelia Bulletin-Monitor has a report about this that’s well worth reviewing. I’m grateful for the local journalists across the Fifth District for their work writing about things I find so interesting and hope to build an audience for in this newsletter. I am a paying subscriber to this newspaper, and many others!
Back to the budget.
The five-year capital improvement plan totals $89,185,554 with $16,627,048 in FY24. Of that, $8.1 million is slated for the Amelia County Public Schools Vocational Tech Center. There’s also nearly $2.9 million for a county radio system upgrade.
Supervisors will also hold two public hearings for the changes to both the planning fees and the utility fees for the county.
There will also be a presentation from the Amelia County Board of Equalization.
Lynchburg City Council to meet Tuesday to further reconcile unbalanced FY24 budget
The Republican majority of the Lynchburg City Council has ordered a 16-cent cut to the real property tax rate and that’s meant City Manager Wynter Benda has had to make several million in cuts.
“We expect a 2024 General Fund budget of $235,400,” reads a March 20 letter from Councilors Chris Faraldi, Jeff Hegelson, Larry Taylor, and Marty Misjuns. “This a 5.5% increase over the adopted 2023 budget of $223,100,100.”
They want a real property tax rate of $0.89 per $100 of assessed value. That’s lower than the current rate of $1.11 per $100. Benda had proposed a reduction to $1.05 per $100 of value in the budget he presented earlier this year.
The Republican majority rejected that proposal on arrival.
“It is further expected that the City Manager, at all times, constantly and diligently strive to cut wasteful spending, reduce staff whenever possible, and have a private sector approach to have continued improvements in all sectors of the city,” the letter continues.
The Republican majority asked to waive refuse collection fees in 2024, waive the vehicle license for 2024, and increase the threshold for a business to have to pay license taxes if they have over $150,000 in annual sales.
Their slogan is “LET’S COMMIT TO MAKE LYNCHBURG A PLACE PEOPLE WANT TO STAY.”
Council met on Tuesday to go through some of those cuts to reconcile Benda’s recommended budget with one that fits their vision of lower spending and a smaller government. There are four votes to proceed in that direction and Council discussed the overall situation at their meeting on April 20. For an account, read Bryson Gordon’s story in the April 20 Lynchburg News & Advance.
Other Councilors have asked to see the results of a budget based on $0.99 per $100 of assessed value, but Benda knows there are four votes to proceed only with the one with the cuts. Check out all of the materials for the budget on the city’s website.
A budget reconciliation meeting was held on Tuesday. In advance, Benda provided the results of what a three percent cut across all departments would look like. This came up with $1,318,036 in cuts. (read the seven-page memo)
The City Assessor reported that would mean elimination of an intern and a trainee position, as well as cut a full-time position.
“I have not been able to fill higher level appraisal positions due to lack of competitive pay,” the assessor wrote. “My previous appraiser III position was filled with an appraiser trainee.”
Community Development suggested they could save $98,942 by reducing funds for demolition for over three hundred condemned buildings within city limits.
“In 2022, City Council adopted additional code requirements for derelict buildings and, subsequently, included $100,000 for the demolition of buildings that did not address those requirements,” reads that department’s response.
“While the additional funding would have allowed significant progress to revitalize
our neighborhoods, elimination of the current demolition funding will halt
the gains made over the past year,” the description continues. “City staff would resume the practice of addressing demolitions only in cases of emergency, if funding allows.”
Other highlights:
Economic Development would eliminate support for the Lynchburg Regional Alliance and save $100,067.
Financial Services would eliminate two and a half positions that staff the teller windows community members use to purchase permits and pay bills and fines. Everything would be done online with no human interaction.
The pool season at Miller Park would be reduced by 10 days to save $17,559.
The Templeton Senior Center would be closed to save $94,031. “Many of our customers are at risk of becoming isolated in their homes and seeing their quality of life decline if it is closed and no longer available to them.”
Public works would reduce mowing on major roads like Timberlake Road and Wards Road to save $156,000.
To get caught up in full, check out Bryson Gordon’s latest story from the April 25 work session. The next meeting will be on May 2 at 4 p.m. in the second floor training room inside City Council.
Reading material:
'Technicality' over corporate status could tank plaintiff's case in Lee statue dispute, Hawes Spencer, Charlottesville Daily-Progress, April 25, 2023
Let the good times roll: Danville Casino to open May 15, 10 a.m., Chatham Star-Tribune, April 26, 2023
Registrar determines Republican candidate living in his friend’s garage meets residency requirements; petition to disqualify him fails, Shannon Kelly, Cardinal News, April 26, 2023
Amherst County budget proposal includes 11.5% spending increase, hearing set for May 1, Justin Faulconer, Amherst New-Era Progress, April 26, 2023
Amherst board commits to financing Gateway Sewer Project, Justin Faulconer, Amherst New-Era Progress, April 26, 2023