City Council will meet Tuesday, May 21, 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.
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.
During the business session, City Council is scheduled to hold public hearings on three proposed tax increases. The three increases proposed are as follows:
- A four-cent increase in the real estate tax rate from 80 cents per $100 of assessed value to 84 cents per $100 of assessed value.
- A one percentage point increase in the hotel/motel occupancy tax from 7 percent to 8 percent. The increase would be effective on July 1.
- A 10-cent increase in the tangible personal property tax from $3.50 per $100 of assessed value to $3.60 per $100 of assessed value. The increase would be effective Jan. 1.
The public hearings also would allow comment on the implementation of a proposed hotel/motel room occupancy fee $2 per night. The fee would be effective July 1.
Although City Council will hold public hearings on the proposed tax increases and the fee, it cannot vote on them Tuesday night. The matters are on the agenda as a first reading. A first reading is an introductory step required by City code. This step serves to provide public notice of pending action. The earliest vote that can take place will be the June 4 City Council meeting.
The proposed tax increases and fee are expected to generate nearly $1.5 million in additional revenue to boost local funding for Danville Public Schools and the Danville Life Saving Crew.
City Council is scheduled to vote Tuesday night on final adoption of the Danville Public School budget for the next fiscal year. A public hearing was held at City Council’s meeting on May 7.
Final adoption of the full City budget is scheduled for the June 18 meeting, with a public hearing on June 4.
Final adoption must take place no later than June 30. The final budget will serve as a framework for city operations from July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2020.
In other matters Tuesday night, City Council is scheduled to vote on the renewal of the community garden license with Right Touch Christian Church, and Council will hold first readings on state grants for victim witness and domestic violence programs.
During the work session, City Council will review the latest financial reports, consider appointments to board and commissions, and discuss changes to the personnel system and conveyance of a lot in Airside Industrial Park.
Also in the work session, City Council will discuss a request for a resolution backing the implementation of a local hospital fee to support the additional Medicaid payments for which SOVAH Health Danville qualifies under the Commonwealth of Virginia’s federally approved Medicaid State Plan.