Staunton City Council on April 3 reviewed a proposed fiscal 2026 budget that staff presented on a 91¢ real-estate tax projection and that would raise total city spending across funds to the amount presented: $164,000,000.37707, a reported increase of roughly 10.4 percent over the prior year. The council spent more than two hours reviewing revenues, carryover, outside-agency requests and planned capital reserves, and staff flagged a recommended replacement of the Gypsy Hill Park pool house because of structural deterioration.

The budget presentation, led by staff presenter Jessie Moyers and City Manager Leslie Beauregard, stressed that the general fund — the focus of most council and public interest — was shown at about $79,600,000, an 8.31 percent increase over FY25. At the 91¢ rate used in the presentation, staff estimated roughly $4.4 million in additional real-estate tax revenue; other revenue drivers included a VDOT reimbursement increase and restricted state contributions tied to the Children’s Services Act. Staff also noted a negative revenue change of $665,000 tied to the end of a jail buy-in payment the city had received in prior years.

Why it matters: council members said they want to balance the city’s long-term infrastructure needs with short-term pressure on homeowners following recent assessment increases. Staff presented alternatives for financing capital projects — including carryover, EDA receipts from recent property sales and a 2¢ real-estate tax earmark that would seed an “unknown infrastructure” reserve — and asked for guidance before the April 10 public hearing and next work session.

Key budget mechanics and program changes

- Revenues and taxes: Staff showed the proposed budget “introduced at the 91¢” rate; that comparison underlies the projections for revenue and the funding shown for schools, public safety and capital reserves. The presenter said the 91¢ projection includes two cents “for the unknown expenditures that we're gonna have associated with the tunnels that run under the wharf.” Jessie Moyers, staff presenter, said: “The total proposed budget, including all funds, is $164,000,000.37707. That's an increase at 10.4%.”

- Major spending increases: The largest single local increase shown in the draft is the transfer to Staunton City Schools — about $1.6 million, a roughly 9.55 percent increase in the school transfer as presented. Staff also budgeted increases for salaries and benefits (a line shown at about $1.1 million, largely to reflect a 3 percent cost-of-living increase and other benefits), and a budgeted 10 percent increase in health-insurance costs pending final claims data later in the year.

- Restricted revenues and carryover: Staff identified roughly $1.1 million of additional VDOT-related revenue and approximately $433,000 of restricted state revenue for the Children’s Services Act. The presentation repeatedly noted that many capital items in the proposed five-year CIP would be funded only if FY25 carryover materializes; staff said carryover will be significantly affected by updated assessments that took effect Jan. 1, 2025.

Public safety staffing and retirement multiplier

Council and staff reviewed a range of unfunded public safety requests and a proposed change to the hazardous-duty retirement multiplier that would affect police and fire retirement benefits. Chief Volley described current shift staffing and the department’s recruitment steps: “We are each shift has 11,” he said of full staffing on shifts, and explained the department adjusted to a 10-per-shift minimum to stabilize coverage. The fire department requested six additional full-time positions (the full request shown at about $453,000) to provide guaranteed time off and reduce reliance on part-time staff.

Staff also described a proposal to increase the hazardous-duty multiplier used in Virginia Retirement System calculations from 1.7 to 1.85; staff estimated that the FY26 impact of opting into the higher multiplier would be about $208,000. Staff cautioned that once the city opts in the higher multiplier it is ongoing and raises the VRS contribution base for all employees while the additional benefit would apply only to police and fire.

Outside agencies, nonprofits and a proposed $50,000 pool for new requests

Staff presented recommendations for outside agency funding: the Valley Community Services Board was recommended for full required local match funding after state guidance about required local shares; the Valley Children’s Advocacy Center was recommended to be fully funded at the requested $50,000 (staff proposed adding $35,000 to prior-year funding levels); and the Talking Book Center and others were shown at level funding or modest increases. Councilors discussed a $50,000 line item in the proposed budget intended as discretionary support for a set of new nonprofit requests (Arcadia, Warm Shelter, Aero Project, Shenandoah Valley Small Business Development, YMCA and another); several councilors suggested dividing that $50,000 across the new applicants or using an existing community fund to target the money to Stanton residents.

CIP priorities, reserves and one-time receipts

Staff listed multiple CIP reserves proposed for carryover funding: the West End reserve, Uniontown Neighborhood Action Plan reserve, an expanded sidewalk reserve (from $100,000 to $300,000 annually as presented), and a new housing/workforce housing reserve (initial placeholder in FY26 shown at $30,000). Staff also described the accounting flow for sale proceeds of parcels related to the Crossing: proceeds first enter the EDA fund and then are transferred to the general fund as recovered cost; staff said those receipts would be available to appropriate in a future budget amendment if council chooses to do so.

Gypsy Hill Park pool house: structural issues and recommendation to replace

Staff told council a recent architectural review showed structural deterioration on the Gypsy Hill Park pool house, including corroded steel joists and failing concrete and retaining walls; staff said temporary shoring allowed the pool to open in 2024 and 2025 but that longer-term repairs or replacement are needed. Jessie Moyers said repairs might buy “maybe five more years” in one scenario but recommended replacement as the sustainable option. A professional estimator engaged by the design team provided evolving cost estimates during the review process; staff reported estimates that ranged from about $1.7 million to $2.5 million and said the project design is near 65 percent complete. Staff said they plan to put the project to bid in early summer with the goal of beginning construction after the 2025 pool season, but cautioned that recent bidding for smaller projects has shown volatile results.

Golf carts and revenue: a replacement plan

Parks and golf staff described a five-year replacement plan for golf carts and said the fleet purchase made in 2021 paid for itself quickly through higher cart rental revenue, higher green fees and higher membership levels. Staff presented scenarios for a $50,000 or $60,000 annual reserve to phase in replacements; they noted that auction proceeds from retired carts flow back to the general fund as surplus sales revenue.

Other staff notes and risks

- Trash pickup route-optimization software: public works staff said it is too early to quantify efficiency or cost savings from the new routing software; they plan to gather data and may expand software use to street sweeping and other routing tasks.
- Potential loss of federal/state funding: staff flagged a possible federal/state funding risk that could reduce library or health-department funding; staff will ask the local health director and library staff to brief council as more information becomes available.

Votes at a glance

Council took one formal recorded action during the work session: a motion to allow councilor Michael Overholtzer (spelled in the transcript as Overholtzer) to participate remotely under the city’s procedures after he stated a personal matter prevented physical attendance. Councilor Park moved the motion; it was seconded; a roll call showed all present councilors voting "aye." Councilor Overholtzer stated his remote location as Nags Head, North Carolina and said, "I am on vacation." (Source: staff roll call and the motion recorded in the meeting transcript.)

Who said what (selected quotes)

- Jessie Moyers, staff presenter: "The total proposed budget, including all funds, is $164,000,000.37707. That's an increase at 10.4%."
- Councilor Overholtzer (remote): "Yes. I can. Good evening. I am on vacation." (remote-participation statement)
- Chief Volley, Fire Chief: "We are each shift has 11." (describing shift staffing)

What’s next

Staff asked council for guidance ahead of the April 10 public hearing on the proposed budget; staff said it will return with refined numbers, carryover projections and any additional information requested by councilors. Councilors asked staff to provide side-by-side scenarios that show the draft budget with and without the proposed 2¢ infrastructure earmark and to produce comparative data about how a household’s tax burden would change under different rates. Staff also said it will return with more detail about the proposed stantonbusiness.com website update, nonprofit funding options and estimates for carryover and sale proceeds that could be appropriated by future amendment.

Ending note: the work session was not a decision meeting on the full budget. Councilors and staff used the session to narrow priorities, ask for analyses of trade-offs and set a path toward the April 10 public hearing and next work session.