Budget reconciliation talks to continue in Lynchburg on Tuesday
Plus: Charlottesville City Council and the Planning Commission will meet again on the zoning update
This is the first time this experimental newsletter focuses mostly solely on Lynchburg but it will likely not be the last. I grew up in Campbell County but left soon after high school. My parents still live in Lynchburg and I visit frequently.
I wrote the plan to create this newsletter right across from where they live now. It’s been eleven months, and I find myself better connected to some of what’s happening all across the Fifth District. I am hopeful to visit every place, and better understand how all of our diverse local governments now fit into one cohesive entity.
There’s a lot to be learned from each other, and that’s the hope of this non-partisan publication. Please forward it on to others.
Lynchburg City Council to discuss what happens if real property tax rate is cut by sixteen cents
$12 million in reductions must be found
The seven-member Lynchburg City Council will meet at 4 p.m. for a work session in Council Chambers in City Hall at 900 Church Street in downtown Lynchburg. (meeting portal)
There are three business item briefings and two agenda items. It does not appear that votes will be taken at this meeting.
The first briefing is on a proposed zoning ordinance amendment related to child and adult day care centers. The idea is to eliminate frontage requirements for buildings with such uses.
“The frontage requirements and land area requirements are problematic for commercially zoned day care centers and for small day care centers in residential zones,” reads the staff report. “The current standards have prevented new day care centers from\ opening in both commercial and residential zones or required them to request a variance from the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA).”
The Planning Commission recommended making the changes on a unanimous vote. This item will appear at Council’s May 9 meeting.
The second is on the appointment process to the School Board.
“This year, City Council has elected to hold the entirety of the School Board appointment process in open session,” reads the staff report.
That will involve a public hearing to discuss potential candidates on May 9 and then continued to May 23, followed by live-streamed interviews with those selected for further review. The appointments to District I, II, and III will be made on June 13.
The third is over the majority position on Council to reduce the property tax rate from $1.11 per $100 of assessed value to $.89 per $100. That is going to take major amendments to City Manager Wynter Benda’s recommended budget. He has recommended a real property tax rate of $1.05 and that budget is still the only one listed on the city’s budget website.
“The effects upon the City associated with such a proposed reduction have been made known to the City Council during individual meetings between the City Manager (or his designee) and Councilmembers, written and publicized answers to questions and/or requests from City Councilmembers, work sessions concerning the reconciliation of the proposed FY24 budget, and other information provided to the City Council from the City Manager and/or his staff.
Some of those answers may be in other materials beginning with the 14-page presentation for the April 11 work session. Additionally, Council has directed the annual sales threshold to require a business to pay the BPOL tax would be increased to $150,000, creating another $625,000 in lost revenue. (view the presentation)
Staff suggested $5.3 million in cuts but at the time had another $6.8 million to find. One strategy might be to freeze positions and count on the savings of not filling them. That could save $2 million. Another would be to reduce funding for vehicles in the public fleet. That could save $2.6 million. An across the board three percent cut to departments would yield $2.2 million but would impact service levels.
Another would be to use one-time money to pay for on-going expenses. This is generally regarded as a bad budgetary idea but it happens. In 2022, Charlottesville City Council allocated the entirety of the $5.5 million surplus for FY2021 to employee bonuses and salary increases.
The first work session agenda item is on the community engagement plan for Lynchburg City Schools facilities upgrades. The firm MTG will facilitate three meetings next week:
Monday, May 1, 2023 at 6 PM, Bedford Hills Elementary
Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 6 PM, T. C. Miller Elementary
Thursday, May 4, 2023 at 6 PM, Heritage Elementary
The second work sessions on the reconciliation of the FY24 budget. There are no advance materials that are online that I can find. Do you know where they are? How big of an impact will this reduction have on services?
The work session will end with a closed session for appointments to the Lynchburg Regional Airport Commission.
Dozens signed up to speak at Lynchburg City Council meeting
The regular meeting of the City Council begins at 7:30 p.m. This one begins with a presentation of the Key to the City to Delegate Kathy Byron whose retirement the Altavista Journal reported in early March
There are two public hearings.
One is a resolution approving the allocation of $711,153.90 in Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and $470,879.88 in HOME funds. The CDBG money is going to neighborhood improvements in the Tyreanna and Pleasant Valley neighborhoods as well as Jefferson Park.
The HOME funding is allocated thus:
$33,000 for City Administration
$125,000 to Rush Homes for their Carolyn’s Place rental housing project
$62,879.88 for Greater Lynchburg Habitat for Humanity’s homeownership program
$150,000 for Lynchburg Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s HOME for Good project
$100,000 for FARRR Foundation’s Lighthouse Beloved Community Land Trust down payment assistance program
The second public hearing is for a resolution approving third-quarter adjustments to the FY23 budget.
Then there are over 50 people who have signed up to address the Council. Lynchburg rules require those wishing an audience to do so before the meeting. These range from Beth White on ‘the budget, with the specific areas of law enforcement and the city’s IT department’ to Laura Henry-Stone.
"I plan to provide comments on the proposed city budget,” Henry-Stone is quoted.
There is one item under general business. That’s to amend the budget to accept new funding and appropriate is to the Lynchburg Police Department for law enforcement equipment and technology.
Charlottesville joint work session with Planning Commission
The spring of zoning continues with another joint work session between the Charlottesville Planning Commission and the Charlottesville City Council. I have so many stories I still want to write about this process, which doesn’t seem to get much interest from other writers. In fact, I just did a Google search on “Charlottesville zoning” doesn’t turn up much.
This is the most transformative reform that will happen in Charlottesville in decades and I suspect most of my colleagues tune out on the details. I have been using my weekly column in C-Ville Weekly to highlight a few things here and where as I can, but there’s so much more I want to write.
But back to this meeting which takes place in CitySpace beginning at 5 p.m. This to be a discussion of “module two” but there’s no sense of what feedback staff wants. The third module is not yet available. The Planning Commission also had a conversation about the second module at their meeting on April 11. I’ve not written that up yet, either.
This meeting will be held in CitySpace as a hybrid meeting. (meeting info)
Here’s what I have written up if you want to get up to speed before this meeting.
Charlottesville zoning updates: Get ready for a busy 2023, December 19, 2022
Council agrees to allow potential zoning change for nine-story Ivy Road building, January 10, 2023
Realtor group seeks greater awareness of Charlottesville zoning rewrite, January 30, 2023
Charlottesville releases first set of new draft zoning rules including new map, February 4, 2023
Planning Commission reviews Charlottesville zoning changes in advance of open house meetings, February 22, 2023
Details of second module of Charlottesville’s new zoning code unveiled at work session, April 11, 2023
Planning Commission gets a spoiler on third module of Charlottesville’s draft zoning, April 13, 2023
Appointed and elected officials will speak for three hours about this topic. Will any of it change what’s already drafted or is this all a foregone conclusion?
Reading material:
"What's in, what's out:" Lynchburg City Council could add another meeting to reconcile budget, Bryson Gordon, Lynchburg News & Advance, April 15, 2023
Bedford County considering fee changes for residential, commercial construction and development, Justin Faulconer, Lynchburg News & Advance, April 15, 2023
Bedford supervisors review rising solid waste costs, prolonging landfill use a suggested option, Justin Faulconer, Lynchburg News & Advance, April 21, 2023
Abortion and election law central to GOP nomination for open House seat in Bedford, Amherst, Nelson, Rachel Mahoney, Cardinal News, April 24, 2023