City manager presents $2.264 billion FY26 budget with no tax-rate change; proposes $4.9 million increase for schools

City Manager Sam Sanders delivered a proposed FY26 budget to Charlottesville City Council on March 4 that totals $2,264,474,183 across all funds and proposes no change to local tax rates. The proposal includes a $4.9 million increase in operating support for Charlottesville City Schools, expanded affordable‑housing investments, and a set of priorities councilors asked the manager to reflect in the budget.

Key numbers and priorities

- Total budget (all funds): $2,264,474,183 (proposed FY26). The city manager presented the plan as balanced and based on current revenue projections. - General fund context: the manager said the current-year general fund is approximately $252 million and total managed funds including utilities and transit total roughly $607 million. - Schools: proposed increase of $4.9 million in ongoing operating support to Charlottesville City Schools to cover negotiated collective‑bargaining costs and other priorities; the manager also recommended increasing annual school priority CIP investments to $1.4 million and ongoing maintenance funding to $1.3 million. - Affordable housing: the budget proposes $12.7 million in investments over the coming year and the next five years for housing initiatives, including allocations tied to projects discussed at the meeting (for example,…