April 24, 2025: Charlottesville City Council to adopt tax rates at special meeting tonight
The fourth and final edition of the newsletter for this week
There is only one meeting today and it is at 6 p.m. for the Charlottesville City Council to adopt the tax rates for FY2026. More on that in a moment as it is the only meeting.
I began writing this edition at the same time I began writing today’s edition of Charlottesville Community Engagement. My style over there is to begin each edition with a little bit of history. I want readers to remember that much more has happened in time outside of this moment and that there are lessons to be learned. That’s how the future gets built.
According to the very brief research I did for today’s bit, the first regularly published newspaper went out for the first time on April 24, 1704. I’d like to know more about the history of journalism as I try to figure out what my role is in its future. I created this newsletter because I believe overtime that there are commonalities in Virginia’s Fifth District worth exploring. Please make sure you’re looking at Reading Material with links to articles by other journalists.
So far, all I’m able to do is put out summaries of what’s coming up at meetings. I think there’s an interesting future to expand to do so much more, but I need to expand capacity for that first. Capacity is one of those words that can be a euphemism when someone is trying to be vague. Do I mean money? Do I mean labor? Do I mean some sort of a device to freeze time?
I don’t know. I’m just glad to be doing this experiment even on these days where there may not be much of a newsletter. I share a bit of the behind the scenes because I want people reading this to know I’m a human being connected to this time and place. Just like you are.
Now, on with the show! I use that phrase because I’d love for each of these to be a podcast, too. It’s fun to dream.
Charlottesville City Council to hold special meeting to adopt tax rate
It is unusual for the Charlottesville City Council to adopt its tax rate for a calendar year after the budget for the next fiscal year has been adopted. That is what has happened this year due to two advertising errors that twice postponed a required public hearing.
“The Real Estate Tax rate was published at $.98/$100 assessed value and the City's FY 2026
Budget is balanced with the revenue that the rate would generate,” reads the staff report.
The staff report does not state what that amount would be because Virginia law doesn’t dictate what must be in a staff report. However, the law does require the amounts to be posted in a public notice in a newspaper of record. In that case, that’s the Charlottesville Daily Progress which publishes three days a week.
The requirements are laid out in §58.1-3321. The first public notice was published in the wrong section of the newspaper, but this is what the advertisement read:
“Total assessed value of real property, excluding additional assessments due to new construction of improvements to property, exceeds last year’s total assessed value of real property by 7.36 percent.”
“The tax rate which would levy the same amount of real estate tax as last year, when multiplied by the new total assessed value of real estate with the exclusions mentioned above, would be $0.9128 per $100 of assessed value. This rate will be known as the ‘lowered tax rate.’”
“The City of Charlottesville proposes to adopt a real estate tax rate of $0.98 per $100 of assessed value. The difference between the lowered tax rate and the proposed rate would be $0.0672 per $100 or 7.359 percent. This different will be known as the “effective tax rate increase.”
“Based on the proposed real property tax rate and changes in other revenues, the total budget of the City of Charlottesville will exceed last year’s by 4.97 percent.”
The March 17 public hearing on the tax rate to satisfy §58.1-3321 was postponed originally to April 7 but city resident James Moore filed an injunction based on a claim that the notice was not published in the appropriate space in City Hall. Though they fought the injunction in court, the city opted to postpone for a second time.
The public hearing was held on April 21. There were two speakers with Moore being the first. He said that by going with the lowered rate, Council was increasing the tax burden on property owners at a rate of three times the inflation rate.
“I know of at least two property investors that are simply reluctant to develop new housing without some assurance that your cost increases, city cost increases, will at some point in the future align with inflation,” Moore said.
The other person did not give a name and asked a question. Questions are not the reason for public hearings.
“We’re not going to respond right now, but I’d love to sit down and talk with you some time,” said Mayor Juandiego Wade.
Wade then closed the public hearing.
Tonight’s meeting contains no other business, but Council can always amend their agenda to add items to discuss. Will that happen? A reason to pay for journalism is to make sure someone is paying attention.
Reading material:
Cumberland County starts shaping economic development plan, Brian Carlton, Farmville Herald, April 4, 2025
Goochland approves $148.5 million 2025-26 budget, keeps tax rate, Clare Gehlich, WRIC, April 17, 2025
Fluvanna’s tax rate set at $0.689 – for now, Heather Michon, Fluvanna Review, April 18, 2025
Planning commission recommends approval of permit allowing for Wilde Manor at Tarover, Miranda Baines, Gazette-Virginian, April 18, 2025
Goochland residents question abrupt superintendent switch: 'The fix was in', Melissa Hipolit, WTVR 6 News, April 18, 2025
Senator Kaine addresses tariff impact on Virginia businesses during Danville visit, WSET, Sarah Weitzman, April 22, 2025
Amherst County loses federal grant opportunity for infrastructure needs, Justin Faulconer, Lynchburg News-Advance (paywall), April 23, 2025
Amherst trucking business gets 60 days to comply with zoning permit, Justin Faulconer, Lynchburg News-Advance (paywall), April 23, 2025
Reimagine Chatham kicks off branding initiative with the public, Ceilidh Hicks, Chatham Star-Tribune, April 21, 2025