Williamsburg council reviews $112.3 million FY26 budget, pauses park borrowing and weighs new excise taxes and utility rate hike

The Williamsburg City Council on April 7 heard public comments and a detailed presentation of the city manager’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget, a $112.3 million package that includes major cuts to the capital improvement plan, a proposed utility rate increase to fund roughly $27.6 million in water system upgrades over 10 years, and consideration of a new admissions (ticket) tax along with increases to lodging and meals taxes.

City Manager Drew Trivette told the council that “a budget is a plan. It’s not a … contract. It’s not a guarantee of spending,” and said staff had trimmed $15.3 million from the CIP, identified $725,000 in operating reductions and frozen nine vacant positions to help balance the package. Trivette said the proposed capital program totals $39.6 million and the general fund request is $15.1 million. He said the utility fund upgrades—which include work at the water treatment plant and related distribution improvements—are estimated at about $27.6 million over a decade.

Why it matters: The proposal seeks to address long‑deferred utility maintenance and avoid a larger crisis later, but it would raise recurring costs for residents and businesses. Trivette proposed a one‑year water rate adjustment equal to $1.59 per 1,000 gallons (presented as the per‑thousand increment staff recommends for FY26) and forecast that an average residential bill would rise about $6.36 per month; a median commercial user would see roughly a $28.62 monthly increase in the staff analysis.

Key elements of the proposal and debate - Cuts and reserves: Trivette said staff removed $15.3 million in CIP projects for FY26 and pulled another $15 million from future CIP years. He also proposed using $5.5 million of one‑time COVID‑era funds and $1 million from reserves to smooth the budget if revenues fall short. - Staffing and operating: The budget includes a 3% cost‑of‑living adjustment for staff but declines to fund most new staffing requests—the only new positions included are two utility roles (an engineer and a fats/oils/grease inspector) funded from utility revenues. - Utility funding: Trivette framed a multi‑year plan to repair and modernize the water treatment plant and distribution system. He said incremental increases over time would have been preferable, but skipping past increases left the city needing a larger near‑term adjustment. - Excise taxes and admissions tax: To shore up the CIP without raising property tax rates materially, staff proposed increasing meals and lodging excise taxes (example midpoints shown in the presentation were +2% meals, +3% lodging) and introducing an admissions tax (staff noted the typical local rate is 10% but councilors discussed phased or lower rates and exemptions for certain classes such as university‑sponsored events, which staff said are treated as exempt under a prior attorney general opinion). Council members discussed charging different classes of events at different rates and protecting charitable and nonprofit galas via exemptions or lower schedules. - Library and partners: The budget currently includes a $20 million city share for a downtown library; staff provided a bid that showed a $26 million price for a library component in the packet. Trivette said the city does not yet have final commitments from partner jurisdictions (James City County, York, and library system stakeholders) and that the council will need to decide how to address any shortfall.

Public comment and local concerns Residents used the public comment period to criticize aspects of the budget and proposed projects. Resident Robert Wilson called the FY26 budget “only the latest instance of mismanagement by the city of Williamsburg,” and raised concerns about past development deals, water infrastructure needs, and proposed rate increases. Resident Carolyn Murphy said she opposed the city “going further in debt by borrowing $6,500,000 for a new park” and urged the council to prioritize maintenance of existing parks and services. Multiple speakers from Peacock Hill and nearby neighborhoods urged the council to delay or reconsider the proposed children’s park at that location, citing historic‑district compatibility, traffic, noise and long‑term maintenance costs.

Council response and next steps Councilors generally praised staff work on the draft budget while urging caution about new borrowing. Mayor Ponds and several councilors said they would not support immediate borrowing for the proposed $6.5 million children’s park and asked staff to rename and reframe the line in the CIP (for example, “Downtown Park”) and to remove the borrowing amount while keeping a small planning allocation to continue community engagement. Councilor Ramsey (identified in the meeting as Ms. Ramsey) said the African American Heritage Trail work is further along and could proceed with some components this year even if the trailhead sculpture is delayed. Several councilors emphasized the city’s contractual and moral obligation to school funding and that they intended to review the CIP and revenue options further before adopting the budget in May.

Formal actions recorded During the meeting the council moved into a closed session under state law (see Authority list below) and later certified the closed session and adjourned. Those procedural motions were adopted by recorded voice/roll call votes (see the actions array below for the recorded names and tallies).

What’s next: Staff will refine revenue estimates and present adjustments at the council’s April 10 meeting (public hearings) and again at the May work session and May regular meeting, when the charter requires final adoption. Councilors asked staff to return with additional projections on different admissions‑tax scenarios, possible excise tax classifications and the impact of removing or postponing specific CIP line items (including the children’s park borrowing).