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Newport News previews 2026 legislative package: traffic-camera reviewers, land-value tax option and charter changes on recall and compensation
Summary
City staff outlined proposed state legislative requests and charter-change options including authority for local traffic-camera video reviewers, optional land-value tax authorization, a local recall-election process, and a citizen compensation committee; council asked for more study on partisan labeling and ranked-choice voting.
Jerry Wilson presented Newport News'proposed 2026 General Assembly priorities and several charter-change ideas during the Oct. 28 work session.
Wilson framed the approaching biennial budget session as challenging and described policy and budget requests the city is considering for its legislative package. Among the specific code-change asks, staff proposed a narrower follow-up to last year's traffic-camera legislation to allow localities to hire and train technicians to review traffic-camera footage for violations rather than require sworn officers to perform that work.
The package also seeks an optional authorization to permit certain localities to adopt a land-value tax that would tax unimproved land at a different rate than improvements. Wilson said the change would be optional, not mandatory, and would aim to encourage development by reducing the tax disincentive associated with improvements.
On charter changes, staff proposed two items to include in the package: a local recall-election process that would permit petitions and voter referenda at the local level (distinct from the Code of Virginia's circuit-court process for removal) and a citizen compensation committee to recommend council salaries, with council retaining authority to set pay not to exceed the commission's recommendation. Both items were presented as proposed charter language for council consideration.
Wilson outlined additional charter-discussion items that are not finalized in the printed package and were presented for council feedback: allowing partisan identification for local candidates on the ballot, the option of ranked-choice voting (available under state code through July 2031 by majority vote of council), and consideration of adding seats for council and the elected school board (including potential "super-ward" options). Councilmembers asked staff for additional analysis and public education before any formal change is pursued; some councilmembers expressed concern about enabling recalls or partisan labeling without safeguards.
Wilson also reviewed standing and recurring items in the legislative package, including a repeat budget ask to restore Safer Communities funding ($2.5 million per year in the biennium), support for municipal water-system protections, measures to incentivize housing supply and state investment in the Virginia Housing Trust Fund, and policy options like an excise tax on vaping products and an impromptu-events overlay for public-safety responses.
Council did not vote on the legislative package at the work session; staff were asked to refine proposals and return with more detailed language and impact analysis.
