Virginia City Council adopts 2026 budget and $8.82 million levy after fiscal forecast; vote 5-1

The Virginia City Council on Dec. 23 adopted a $8,818,921 property tax levy and a $21,043,344 budget for 2026 following a Baker Tilly presentation that projected long-term budget pressure in the ambulance and event center funds.

City consultants Matt Stark and Steve Scharf of Baker Tilly presented a 10-year financial model showing recent deficits in several funds and a path to fiscal sustainability. Stark said the city has narrowed a large structural gap since 2022 but remains below a 2012 city policy target of holding an unassigned general fund balance equal to 35% of regular expenditures. "The numbers never sleep," Stark said during the presentation, urging the council to begin longer-term planning now.

Scharf walked the council through property-tax scenarios and estimated that a 1% change in the tax rate would raise roughly $90,000 for the city; he said a steady 5% annual increase in the tax rate would stabilize the modeled general fund balance…