City Council will meet Tuesday, June 6, in a business session at 7 p.m., followed by a work session. Both sessions are open to the public.
The business session will be held in the Council Chambers on the fourth floor of the Municipal Building, which is located at 427 Patton St.
The work session will be held on the same floor, but across the hall in the Council Conference Room. In work sessions, Council reviews non-routine matters that will be voted upon in future business meetings.
During the business session, City Council will hold a public hearing on the proposed budget for the next fiscal year. It cannot vote on the budget Tuesday night because the City Code requires a first reading.
A first reading is an introductory step that serves to provide public notice of pending action. The earliest vote that can take place will be the June 20 City Council meeting.
City Council must adopt a budget no later than June 30. The final budget will serve as a framework for city operations from July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018.
Last week, City Council met in a special session to discuss how to close a budget gap of $1.4 million. To close the gap, City Council reached a consensus on measures that included an increase in the attrition rate, an upward revision of revenue forecasts and a delay in the purchase of several pieces of equipment.
As it stands now, the proposed budget for the next fiscal year includes additional crime reduction initiatives, invests more money in public schools and continues projects designed to grow Danville.
In addition to costs associated with the City Council focus areas, the proposed budget maintains municipal services remain at current levels and sets aside funds for employee raises and increases in employee health insurance, employee retirement contributions and medical supplies for inmates at the City Jail.
The proposed budget includes increases in the real estate tax rate, personal property tax rate and lodging tax as follows:
- 7 cents in the real estate tax rate, from 73 cents to 80 cents per $100 in value.
- 50 cents in the personal property tax rate, from $3 to $3.50 per $100 in value.
- a one percentage-point increase in the hotel/motel lodging tax from 6 percent to 7 percent.
The increase in the real estate tax rate is the first since fiscal year 2003. The current tax rate of 73 cents is second only to Williamsburg for cities and 33 cents lower than the state average. Under the new 80-cent rate, a homeowner with a house valued at $75,000 will pay an additional $52.50 per year or $4.38 per month
In addition to holding a public hearing on the budget Tuesday night, City Council is scheduled to vote on several matters:
- An ordinance to amend the zoning code to allow for enforcement of code violations by civil penalties instead of criminal enforcement. A public hearing will precede the vote.
- A request to rezone property at 656 Holland Road to allow it to be consolidated with adjacent property. A public hearing will precede the vote.
- A grant of $173,611 for the victim witness assistance program operated by the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office.
- A grant of $44,635 to be used to fund the salary of an attorney or victim’s advocate to work in the Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court dealing with victims of domestic violence.
During the work session, City Council will discuss the following matters:
- appointments to several boards and commissions
- changes to the Homesave utilities rebate program
- a proposed agreement to allow American Municipal Power to manage the revenue meter associated with Schoolfield Hydro and bill the City for any electric generation produced at the facility.
In addition, City Council will held a closed meeting as allowed by state law to discuss a prospective business or industry related to economic development.
River City TV, the city’s government access channel, will air the business session. Watch it live on cable (Comcast channel 10 and Gamewood channel 122) or streaming on the River City TV Facebook page.
River City TV does not air work sessions, but they are open to the public.
