CVTA approves FY26 operating and capital budget, endorses bond planning steps and GRTC spending plan

The Central Virginia Transportation Authority voted to adopt its FY2026 operating and capital budgets and approved several related administrative and project items at its regular meeting. The authority also approved the Greater Richmond Transit Company’s FY26 regional public transportation plan, authorized staff to proceed with a bond-planning timeline and committee tasks, and agreed to two wayfinding standard project agreements covering Hanover and Henrico counties.

The authority’s executive director, Scott Parsons, said the finance committee had recommended releasing the budgets for public review and that the public comment period ran from April 10 to April 24. Lauren Shepherd, the authority’s new chief financial officer, told the board that proposed operating expenses are about 17% higher than FY25, driven by one additional full-time equivalent position, cost-estimating bench fees and bond-attorney validation fees, and that the proposed capital budget increases total spending by about 20% compared with the prior year. Shepherd said the authority is proposing a capital line item of $25,000 to begin a shared investment with PlanRVA to replace QuickBooks with a modern grants-management and accounting system: "The $25,000 proposed capital budget is a preliminary estimate for a portion of this shared initiative…Staff is still evaluating vendors, and we will come back to the authority as plans are finalized," Shepherd said.

Why it matters: The budget adoption authorizes the staff to move forward with FY26 work, commits authority funds to…