City Council: No Real Estate Tax Increase

City Council approved the school's budget and finalized the city budget at Tuesday night's meeting.

City Council decided Tuesday to keep the real estate tax rate at its FY2013 level of .74 cents per $100 of assessed value and make about $1 million in line item cuts to the city manger's FY2014 recommendations in order to balance the budget.  The vote was 5 - 2 to approve the $187,887,023 budget on its first read.  "That is the total for all funds, including the general fund, schools, all fiscal agencies, enterprise and capital funds," said City Manager Bev Cameron.  The total budget for the General Fund is $81,411,580. Councilmembers Kerry Devine and George Solley voted against the budget, saying it was not in the best interest of the city.  "I believe we are overlooking things we will have to address again next year, and it will be a …

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City Council Again Takes Up Budget

The budget is late being approved, due to continuing disagreements among council members.

City Council will meet at 5:45 p.m. Monday and 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in work sessions to review and discuss the City Manager’s Recommended Budget for Fiscal 2014. The Council hopes to bring the budget to a first read during its regular session Tuesday, which begins at 7:30 p.m. in Council Chambers in City Hall. The April 23 meeting agenda called for council members to cast their first of two votes to approve the budget, but they came to that meeting from the 5:30 p.m. work session still in disagreement over line-item cuts and a tax rate. "Every time we leave a work session we think we have some decision, but we come back with more ideas," Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw said after that sixth work session.  "It's crunch time and we must move …

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City Council Unprepared to Present Final Budget

At the end of a sixth budget work session, City Council members were still in disagreement over line-item cuts and a tax rate.

City Council met for their sixth work session on the FY2014 budget Tuesday night, but were unprepared to present the first reading of a final budget as scheduled on the regular session agenda. "Basically this whole process is a process of compromise," Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw said as the council considered 19 budget items line-by-line in the work session. Although the Council voted 4 - 3 in March to advertise the city's real estate tax rate for FY2014 at 9 cents above the current rate of $.74 cents per $100 valuation, council members are now considering line item cuts to balance the budget with no tax increase, with a 3 cent increase or with a 1 cent increase. Some of the items being debated are city and school employee cost-of-living…

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First Reading of Budget, Riverfront Park Task Force on Council Agenda

City Council will meet at 7:30 p.m. April 23. The agenda is attached to this story as a pdf.

City Council members will have their first vote on the FY2014 budget Tuesday night, after their 5:30 p.m. work session to finalize the budget. City Manager Bev Cameron presented his recommended budget to council on March 12.  In five subsequent work sessions, council members have debated changes. Additionally, City Council voted 4 - 3 to advertise the city's real estate tax rate for FY2014 at 9 cents above the current rate of 74 cents per $100 valuation. The second reading and final adoption will be at the May 14 City Council meeting. The work session begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Room 218 Conference Suite at City Hall.  The regular session begins at 7:30 p.m. in City Council Chambers.  Both meetings are open to the public.  The regular …

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Letters to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: The End of the Central Park Epoch and the City's Future Budget

A letter to the editor from City of Fredericksburg resident Mike Craig.

Editor's Note:  The following op-ed was submitted to Fredericksburg Patch by Mike Craig and it appears unedited in its entirety. Letters to the Editor may be submitted by email to Susan.Larson@patch.com. ______ The Central Park Epoch (CPE) ended on April 10, 2012, when the City Council and the EDA subsidized Barnes and Noble[i].  Central Park is no longer a fire hose of property and sales tax revenue.  As a result, we must first reduce funding in some areas and second control the cost of future capital improvements. The police and sheriff’s budget line items for “supplies” increase every year and in the 2014 budget exceed $500,000[ii].  On July 27, 2012, members of these departments raided the Otter House using “supplies” such as masks, …

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City Advertises 9-Cent Tax Rate

The advertised rate is six cents above the recommendation in the City Manager's proposed FY2014 budget.

City Council voted 4 - 3 to advertise the city's real estate tax rate for FY2014 at 9 cents above the current rate. The current rate is 74 cents per $100 valuation. The advertised rate will be 83 cents, City Manager Bev Cameron said. Council members Brad Ellis, Fred Howe, Matt Kelly and Bea Paolucci voted for the 9-cent rate. Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw and councilors Kerry Devine and George Solley voted for a 5 cent rate, Cameron said. Both rates are higher than the 3 cent rate in the City Manager's proposed FY2014 budget, presented to city council on March 12. Council Member Fred Howe suggested during Tuesday's City Council meeting raising the tax rate by 7 cents in FY2014 to cover the cost of debt payment and operations and …

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Tax Increase, Raises in City's FY2014 Recommended Budget

Fredericksburg City Manager Bev Cameron's presentation to City Council begins the FY2014 budget review process.

Fredericksburg residents could see a real estate tax increase, and school and city staff could receive a salary adjustment if the City Manager's fiscal year (FY) 2014 budget is approved by City Council. The total general fund recommended budget is $82.6 million, an increase of 5.13 percent over FY2013. "I believe we have put together for you a very solid and responsible spending plan," City Manager Bev Cameron told City Council.  He and city staff have been working on the budget since November. The budget proposes a $0.03 real estate tax increase per $100.  That would raise the tax rate from $0.74 to $0.77 per $100 valuation.  "A typical home owner would see an increase of $77 a year, assuming a home value of about $256,000," Cameron said…

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2014 Fredericksburg City Budget on Council Agenda

City Council to discuss Unified Development Ordinance in work session, 2014 budget in regular session.

Fredericksburg City Council's March 12 meeting will feature a presentation of the fiscal year 2014 recommended budget.  The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. in Council Chambers.  It is also televised live on the City's government access channel, Cox cable channel 24. The complete agenda is attached to this article. During their work session, City Council is scheduled to review the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) and procedures manual. The version being presented incorporates public comments, Council’s comments and recommendations for clarity from an outside legal review, according to City Manager Bev Cameron.  City Council has the option to consider final approval on March 26 or send it back to the Steering Committee and the Planning …

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City Council Moves Ahead with Riverfront Park Planning

City Council compromised on a plan to produce a concept design for the park on Sophia Street.

After months of wrangling, City Council voted 6-1 for a compromise plan to obtain a concept design for Riverfront Park.  Council member Brad Ellis (Ward 1) proposed the compromise, based on a memo from Councilor Matt Kelly (At-Large) requesting the city save money by performing in-house some of the preparation for the concept design instead of assigning it all to the design firm. The approved compromise plan divides the process into two phases.  Phase one will consist of Councilor Kelly's recommendations: "That council direct staff to take the following actions that will be needed to be completed before any riverfront plan is implemented: 1. Move forward to complete the survey on the site. 2. Complete archaeological survey of site (or …

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Fred Howe Resigns from VRE Board

Councilman Fred Howe submitted an email letter of resignation to the Mayor Wednesday morning.

Councilmember Fred Howe (Ward 3) resigned as Fredericksburg's Virginia Railway Express (VRE) board member Wednesday morning, over a City Council resolution passed Tuesday evening (attached). The resoulation notes the council's opposition to HB2152, a bill that would change the voting practices of the VRE Operations Board.  In an email to Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw, copied to the full council, Howe said, "the vote taken last evening does not represent in my opinion the necessary governance, the ridership and the tax paying citizens of the City and of the Commonwealth or my professional ethics — as an elected official." The complete letter of resignation is reprinted below: Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw – Please accept this email as my …

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