Chesapeake staff present final budget amendments to fund enhanced public-safety package; manager authority and grant rules proposed

Chesapeake City Manager Chris Price presented final operating and capital budget amendments April 22 as the council moved to close out work on the fiscal‑year 2026 budget, saying staff could fully fund the council’s chosen enhanced public‑safety Option A while also accommodating a suite of school board requests and ordinance clarifications.

Why it matters: The amendments shift recurring and one‑time revenues and change how the city will account for some expenditures — steps that affect Mosquito Control, the public‑utilities CIP, the proposed Fire Station 4 timetable and the city’s internal budget controls. Council direction during the work session will feed the budget ordinances scheduled for adoption on May 13 and final amendments on June 10.

City staff laid out several linked actions to fit the public‑safety funding package into a balanced budget. Price and a finance presenter summarized the biggest transactions: reduce the proposed 2¢ real‑estate tax dedication used in the manager’s original plan; redirect the personal‑property tax levy that had funded Mosquito Control so that 8¢ of that revenue supports enhanced public safety; and replace the lost Mosquito Control revenue with fund‑balance appropriations to preserve mosquito operations. Jonathan (staff member) described these as “summary‑level” transactions that will require additional accounting mechanics in internal service funds.

School funding: The school board requested using FY‑24 reversion and a revenue‑sharing true‑up to appropriate roughly $20.7 million in one‑time funding for operating, athletics and cell‑tower accounts. Jonathan said those amounts currently sit in the general‑fund balance and would be appropriated and transferred to school funds if…