.jpg)
The Lexington City Council held its first budget work session of the year last week and will hold additional work sessions tomorrow and next week ahead of a scheduled public hearing on the budget on April 20.
Council was presented with a draft budget for fiscal year 2023-24 at the April 6 work session. The budget would climb from $34,468,179 to $35,282,859 under the plan.
Tax rates for the coming fiscal year would remain the same, though there is an increase in utility fees of 7 percent for the coming fiscal year. The increase is slated to help cover the cost of several projects, including continuing replacement of water meters in the city and ongoing inflow and infiltration remediation work on the city’s water lines.
Inside: - Council updates noise ordinance. See page A10.
The budget calls for a 5 percent cost of living adjustment, plus implementation of the remaining recommendations from the 2022 Compensation Study, including the Lexington Fire Department’s new career development program which was approved by city council last November.
Factoring in those increases, the personnel services costs for the city would rise by $431,988.
Not included in that is a 16 percent increase in the cost of health care premiums for city employees (a budgeted cost of $993,487 for the upcoming fiscal year, an increase of $136,801 from the 2023 budget).
The proposed budget for Lexington’s schools also features an increase in salaries for employees. The increase of $347,710 in salaries includes the anticipated hiring of additional English as a Second Language (ESL) instructors and aides.
Overall, the school’s budget is down from last year, decreasing by $733,119. The largest single decrease in revenue is a decrease of $1,202,371 in state funding from last year’s budget, due to the schools receiving one-time school construction funds in the 2023 fiscal year that will not reoccur. The School Board and City Council will hold a joint work session prior to the public hearing on April 20 to discuss the schools’ portion of the city budget.
The city is budgeting $1,059,206 in the upcoming fiscal year for a number of new vehicles for various city departments, including two police department vehicles, one fire department vehicle and several pieces of equipment and machinery for the city’s Department of Public Works. The Public Works Department is also getting uniforms in the upcoming fiscal year, resulting in a $21,800 increase in “uniform and wearing apparel,” (from $41,200 to $63,000). Public Works Director Patrick Madigan explained that the uniforms would essentially be rented and that laundry and repairs to the uniforms was included in the expense.
The Police Department is also seeing an increase in salaries of $187,757 in the upcoming fiscal year to allow the department to hire two additional part-time employees to help with staffing for special events in the city.
Police Chief Angela Greene told Council that the department had hired one such employee in the last fiscal year. The department is primarily focusing on potential recruits from Washington and Lee University and the Virginia Military Institute, seeking candidates between 18 and 20 years old who have an interest in pursuing a career in law enforcement. Once the candidates turn 21, they will be able to attend the police academy.
The budget also contains a slight decrease in the amount budgeted for debt services. The proposed budget has $2,340,560 allocated for that line item, down from $2,396,245 approved in the 2023 budget – a decrease of $55,685.
A single, one-time expense of $20,000 has been budgeted for a donation to a capital campaign by the Rockbridge Area Relief Association to refurbish the kitchen where they run their neighborhood grocery. In response to a question from Mayor Frank Friedman about contributions from the county and Buena Vista, City Manager Jim Halasz said that he did not know if Buena Vista was contributing to the campaign, but that the county had committed to contribute some funding.
Council member Nicholas Betts raised the issue of potentially budgeting funding to install sidewalks in portions of the Thornhill area after receiving a letter from “a young person” who lived in the area.
“I think it is important to have a safe place for people to walk, and I also think that it fits into the green infrastructure project that we’re trying to work on,” he said. “I know [the money] has to come from somewhere, but I wanted to bring it to Council’s attention.”
Friedman directed Halasz and city staff to look into whether the project was feasible and what it might cost, and that they would revisit the issue in a future work session.
Council will continue its discussion on the budget in work sessions on April 13 and 20. A public hearing on the budget is currently scheduled for council’s April 20 meeting, and, barring any significant changes that may need to be made from the public’s feedback, council hopes to approve the 2024 budget at its May 4 meeting.
