[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6461484,"mediaKeyId","5824139-58719848ebd5de6ee509defc70b9d6b0","parentId",5824139,"title","Lynchburg council meeting devolves into hours-long dispute over minutes, consent agenda and tax-rate advice; several budget items delayed","audioSeconds",6069,"startMs",1343000,"endMs",7412000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5824139-58719848ebd5de6ee509defc70b9d6b0&start=1343&end=7412","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5824139-58719848ebd5de6ee509defc70b9d6b0/thumbnail_1343000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6461484/Lynchburg/Campbell-County/Virginia/Lynchburg-council-meeting-devolves-into-hours-long-dispute-over-minutes-consent-agenda-and-tax-rate-advice-several-budget-items-delayed","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6461484-d1ea3ff93a7f2a22a903100dbbd6068e/orig.mp4?Expires=1770445405&Signature=MRPpxeobKZ5x3v96L9RGp31Z3d~uzY2dGKT3D2hvwhrtx81meJcfLcbUXjmlY5O54jPRfepkVWt~Bgr0KL-SkIH5x-N1Lq~Sb2mbiR1hLqpRUgVV7s7PiAlirI0oqkRqqT4Uj23XtcDOGsd~7WeX1qIQE4AJ3BfYG2VKKWYLydcAOnoxvZ8qX0NVG~kQqllb6gZb-XNSeT-z~dzw6hpLhw3YFkwmi6PdHq7254ZI~JO9WqtWJ7JTMwfJwofh~isBwoaMXDsEHkNmZ9FMFEm5qdORmDvieI6-V3WRhx1nPSn3e5a2rjKaR2Wh4My~wOeZn1gyG2YFwbYUFQM8RPOQNg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Lynchburg","date","2025-09-24T12:23:21.397Z","article","A lengthy, at-times heated debate over the consent agenda and edits to prior meeting minutes dominated the Sept. 23 Lynchburg City Council meeting, interrupted council business and delayed consideration of several budget items.

The dispute began when a council member objected to approving the consent agenda as a block, invoking the council’s rules of procedure (section 5.2(d)), which require items removed from consent be considered separately. Council members repeatedly disagreed on whether minutes and the five pulled consent items could be handled together or had to be considered individually. That disagreement generated substitute motions, multiple points of order and extended discussion.

At the center of the contention were proposed edits to minutes from June meetings and whether those minutes should record statements made by city staff and legal counsel about the real-estate tax rate following reassessment. Several council members said city staff and the city attorney had advised during earlier deliberations that the existing 89¢ real-estate rate would remain if council took no action; other council members argued that state law requires the rate to default to an equalized rate plus 1% after reassessment and said the minutes should record the conflicting advice.

Councilmember comments included time-stamped references to Virginia Code sections cited during the meeting. Members referenced “Virginia code 58.1-3007,” “58.1-3321” and “58.1-3984” during argument about which statutory process applied; council members disagreed about whether staff advice inverted the statute’s mandate. The transcript records direct exchanges in which members challenged city attorney Matthew Friedman’s and Deputy City Manager Greg Patrick’s previous statements about the post-reassessment default rate.

Multiple substitute motions sought to do three things: (1) insert staff advice about the 89¢ default into the minutes, (2) record that there was no vote to adjourn during the June 23 meeting and (3) record that a vote to adjourn the June 23 meeting occurred during the June 24 meeting. A roll-call vote on an amended substitute motion failed, and later votes addressed approval of minutes and other items.

Councilmembers also asked that external video (the Lynchburg Democratic Committee’s recording) be attached or linked to the official record to show an exchange and a vote whose audio was not present in the city’s uploaded feed. Advocates for including the external video said it would preserve audio and a vote that they said the city’s recording omitted; others opposed expanding the official minutes or including external material.

The prolonged debate delayed action on several financial items that had been scheduled for the evening. Staff had presented the city’s routine fourth-quarter FY2025 and first-quarter FY2026 budget adjustments earlier in the meeting; the first-quarter adjustments included a reported $13,370,000 smart-scale grant award for a state road project and a required local match of $118,360 tied to new state-funded positions. Staff said one reserve entry related to health insurance claims could be “up to $1,500,000” and described various grant true-ups and carry-forward appropriations. Council ultimately voted on the first-quarter FY2026 adjustments, recorded in the meeting as passing 6–1; staff told council that most delayed items could be considered at the next meeting (about two weeks later) if necessary.

After extended debate and several failed substitute motions, the meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn that passed 4–3. During final remarks council members noted that delaying action would postpone funding for some programs and purchases discussed earlier in the meeting; staff told the council that most appropriations could be delayed without immediate harm, but some members said the delays would hold back grant-funded purchases and local partner payments.

No formal sanctions or changes to staff assignments were made at the meeting. Several council members said they intended to pursue rule changes and clearer minute procedures in future meetings.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Lynchburg City Council Meeting 9-23-2025","oneSentenceSummary","A lengthy dispute over the consent agenda, edits to prior minutes and staff advice on the post-reassessment real-estate tax rate dominated the Sept. 23 Lynchburg City Council meeting, delaying several budget items and ending with a 4–3 adjournment vote.","taxTitle","Lynchburg, Campbell County, Virginia","taxId",3745,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6461490,"Lynchburg council approves FY2025 CAPER submittal for CDBG and HOME programs",300,1519000,1819000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5824139-58719848ebd5de6ee509defc70b9d6b0&start=1519&end=1819","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5824139-58719848ebd5de6ee509defc70b9d6b0/thumbnail_1519000.jpg","/articles/6461490/Lynchburg/Campbell-County/Virginia/Lynchburg-council-approves-FY2025-CAPER-submittal-for-CDBG-and-HOME-programs","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6461490-41c832bc5f2a594bac243bfef38a0470/orig.mp4?Expires=1770445405&Signature=fngL0F6Q3p5m4Ia~MYxLkG8Qam8ZjHymX2UfLNgl5r8zblIDXqKiMrX7UJW51Lk2cyjcwcjfWzARhINlmmu93yT6XYCz0Q2evmBgDVVezWAYTcjbR8g2lcBN-7jz7ytsmfFz7GllnDiuqwuuG0MZeNGZyFQo5D5b1CbMIcVYawX~Aa7T-Ki~QmYmmmCQF4iH0impMsBsFdVN4RAQuRWsKgYE9boFRcrzR8XxSgROHlIrQ-raXR1OxiaENnwDpKBooVDUp~~392rPfX1ZARs3aWkJeDOeOCxz3t-Rtnkriml9tv~KzyP9GEuHA73r6hAu-DhtaMZ3cWTkpNR0s4fLdg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Lynchburg City Council on Sept. 23 voted 6–1 to adopt a resolution to submit the city’s FY2025 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME programs to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

City staff summarized the year’s expenditures and accomplishments and invited public comment; none was offered during the hearing. The city’s presentation said funds during the program year came from entitlement allocations, reprogrammed funds, program income and earlier CDBG-CV coronavirus allocations.

Staff highlighted several projects and dollar amounts recorded in HUD’s Integrated Disbursement and Information System. The Jefferson Park public facilities project, described as a multiyear undertaking, was listed as complete; the presentation said $562,395 in CDBG funds (including prior-year allocations) were expended on that project. The Central Virginia Continuum of Care-operated coordinated homeless intake and access (CHIA) program assisted 2,637 people with $54,706 in CDBG funds, the presentation said.

Staff also reported that the Salvation Army’s extreme weather center served 105 people during the winter season (Jan. 25–March 2025) with $24,769 in CDBG funds. Under HOME program activity, Greater Lynchburg Habitat for Humanity expended $57,968 on a homeownership and rental project on Notch Street; staff said two homes were completed and four were under construction. The Florida Terrace Apartments were identified as an affordable rental project that had 11 HOME-assisted units leased in the current year.

The CAPER presentation noted large CDBG-CV expenditures recorded in the year: Interfaith Outreach reported $3,031,374 expended and another local provider listed $5,213 for emergency housing and utility assistance. Staff said a public notice for the CAPER hearing was published on Sept. 5 and that no written public comments had been received prior to the hearing. After the hearing and approval, staff said it would submit any comments received that evening and forward the report to HUD.

“Thank you for your presentation,” the council member chairing the finance committee said before moving approval; another member seconded the motion and the roll call recorded a 6–1 approval. The resolution authorizes submission of the CAPER to HUD; the resolution text and the CAPER were provided to council ahead of the meeting.

Council materials and the staff presentation identify the CAPER as the city’s required annual performance report for HUD-funded CDBG and HOME activities; the adopted resolution directs staff to file the report with HUD and to include any public comments received at the hearing.

Staff noted a ribbon-cutting for the Jefferson Park project scheduled Oct. 8. No additional public hearings or follow-up actions were announced at the meeting.","At its Sept. 23 meeting the Lynchburg City Council voted 6–1 to adopt a resolution to submit the city’s FY2025 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME program activities to HUD. Staff highlighted housing, public facilities and emergency shelter expenditures from the year.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Lynchburg council meeting devolves into hours-long dispute over minutes, consent agenda and tax-rate advice; several budget items delayed

Lynchburg council approves FY2025 CAPER submittal for CDBG and HOME programs