Residents urge property-tax relief for seniors and support for aging services during Newport News budget hearing

Newport News residents pressed the City Council on April 2025 during a continuation of the public hearing on the city manager’s recommended FY2026 operating budget, asking for property‑tax relief for older homeowners, better outreach to seniors, and continued or increased funding for local nonprofits that serve older adults and cultural programming.

The comments came during the public comment portion of the hearing, which the council opened following disclosures by several council members about personal or family ties to organizations that could be affected by budgeted funding. Mayor Philip Jones and other council members said their signed conflict‑of‑interest declarations are on file with the city clerk and that they were not disqualified from participating in the budget decision.

Several speakers described the effect of rising property values and inflation on residents living on fixed incomes. Marshall Morgart, of 205 Bruton Avenue, told council, “Now I’m on a fixed income, I’m retired,” and asked the council to consider lowering the tax rate: “I can’t stop the values from going up, but I can decrease the rate. So why don’t we do that?” Lonnie Colson said rising property taxes “is gonna put a lot of our citizens out of their homes,” and asked the council to “look at those people that’s been in these homes all these periods of time and see if there’s something that we can do.”

Several speakers also urged improved outreach to older residents who do not use digital communications. Justin Kennedy, who said he had interviewed homeless residents as part of work on homelessness, relayed examples of older homeowners who lost homes after rising assessments and asked what the city can do for people with “over $200,000 worth of assets” who nevertheless face housing instability. A council member noted the city has begun direct‑to‑mail outreach this budget cycle, and the city manager said the assessor’s office welcomes appointments and in‑person exchanges to review assessments and the appeal process.

Nonprofit leaders urged continued funding for services that serve older adults and community life. Bill Massey, chief executive officer of the Peninsula Agency on Aging, thanked the council for including the agency in the recommended budget and said the agency serves older adults and caregivers with “meals on wheels, non emergency medical transportation, care coordination, information referral [and] in‑home care.” Massey said there are 34,765 Newport News residents aged 60 or older, about 4,625 of whom live at or below the poverty level, and that 5,500 are over age 80.

Kate Helwig, executive director of Sister Cities Newport News, thanked council for the community support agency grant included in the budget and described Sister Cities’ volunteer programs and international exchanges; she noted Newport News is participating in a city‑cycling campaign May 1–21 with its German sister city Griswold. Sarah Messersmith, president of the board of trustees at the Virginia Living Museum, thanked the council for annual budget support and described the museum’s education programs, free and reduced admission days for Newport News residents, volunteer training that supports workforce development, and a recently opened wild care center and partner cafe.

Other comments touched on parks and facilities planning: one resident asked council to keep a local pool project in the capital improvement program. Throughout the hearing several speakers urged clearer, non‑digital outreach to seniors about tax‑relief programs, eligibility changes the manager has proposed, and how to make appointments with assessor staff.

Council action during the session was procedural: a motion to excuse Councilman Colvin from the meeting and a motion to close the public hearing were both approved by roll call, each recorded as carried 6–0. The council did not take final action on the FY2026 budget at this session; the hearing was a public comment portion of the budget review process that the city manager has repeatedly presented to council this spring.

City staff and council members repeatedly framed options that are part of the recommended budget: the manager referenced a proposal to raise the eligibility threshold for an existing tax‑relief program so additional residents might qualify under the FY2026 guidelines, and staff encouraged residents to make appointments with the assessor’s office to review assessments and appeals. No ordinance or final vote on the budget occurred during the public‑comment session.