Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Radford proposes 79'2 tax rate, utility and fee increases to balance $77.3 million budget
Summary
City staff presented a balanced but smaller 2025-26 budget that relies on a proposed real-estate tax rate increase (proposed 79'2; advertised 82'2 as an upper option), higher water/sewer and solid-waste fees and cuts to capital and outside agencies to close a revenue shortfall.
City finance staff presented Radford City Council with a balanced fiscal 2025-26 all-funds budget totaling $77,262,257 and a general fund of $33,122,947, noting the plan reduces projected revenues and trims expenses after recent revenue shortfalls.
Craig (city finance staff) said the all-funds budget is a decrease from the prior year and that the administration re-sized both revenue projections and expenses to reach balance. He said the proposed city real-estate tax rate in the administration's proposed budget is $0.79 per $100 of assessed value; council advertised the budget using $0.82 per $100 as an upper option to give flexibility before final adoption.
Council and staff walked through household impacts used in the presentation. Craig showed that for a $250,000 home a $0.79 rate would raise property taxes by about $250 a year compared with the current rate, while the advertised $0.82 would raise taxes about $325 a year. The city manager and council members emphasized the calculation that closing a $600,000 school shortfall would be roughly equivalent to a 5-cent change to the real-estate tax rate.
On utilities and fees, staff proposed these changes: an increase in the combined monthly water and wastewater bill for a typical 4,000-gallon customer from about $20.32 (water) and $32.48 (wastewater) to $24.32 (water) and $36.48 (wastewater) respectively (roughly an $8 per month combined increase for the typical household); a residential solid-waste fee increase from $22 to $25 monthly; and no immediate electric rate increase in the proposed budget (staff said wholesale power costs will be monitored and could require adjustments).
To reach balance the proposed general fund cuts include eliminating cash-funded capital purchases (with a plan to debt-finance necessary projects where possible), reducing or pausing outside-agency contributions, cutting $50,000 from the New River Community College ACE program contribution, and an 8% reduction to the library budget. Transit and grant-funded equipment purchases (new buses) appear in higher fund totals but are financed by state and federal dollars, the presentation said.
Speaker and public comment: several residents and stakeholders addressed the budget during the public hearing. Bruce Chase, a Radford University professor, said he was "glad you all are finally addressing the finances" but noted the city's remaining general fund balance and proprietary-fund liquidity issues. Several commenters urged protection of schools as part of the budget priority set.
Process and next steps: the council opened and closed the public hearing on tax rates, fees and the fiscal 2025-26 budget during the meeting. Council members said additional cuts and revenue options will be reviewed before the required second reading and final adoption. Staff was directed to further analyze the proposed cuts and revenue scenarios, including the advertised tax-rate option, reserves and year-end carryover.
Ending: Council members repeatedly framed the work as difficult tradeoffs: preserving core services while addressing revenue shortfalls and avoiding excessive tax burdens on a demographically challenged city. The council scheduled follow-up budget work and said it will consider refinements ahead of the next reading.
