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Lexington City Council unanimously approved the budget and capital improvements plan for the 2023-24 fiscal year at its regular meeting on May 4. The upcoming fiscal year will not see any increase to tax rates for the city, though water fees will increase by 7 percent.
“I think our budget is very sound and does address a majority of the city’s wants and needs,” City Manager Jim Halasz said to Council prior to the vote.
The budget for FY24 is balanced with an anticipated $36,896,212 in both revenue and expenses, an increase of $2,428,033 from the FY23 budget.
The city will see an 8 percent increase in revenues to the general fund for a number of reasons, including an anticipated continued increase of income for the city from both the meals and lodging taxes. The city is budgeting a 13 percent increase in income from meals tax (an additional $190,076 over last year’s budget) and a 27 percent increase in lodging tax income (up $146,841 from last year).
The city will also have higher interest rates on its investment funds, resulting in an increase of $868,000 in revenue across the city’s accounts, as well as an increase in funds from the county revenue sharing payment, due in part to an increase in meals and lodging tax revenue for the county.
Among the reasons for the increased expenses is a proposed 5 percent increase in wages for city employees, as well as the implementation of the remaining recommendations from the 2022 compensation study, including the fire department’s career development program that was approved by City Council last November. The city also has a number of capital projects scheduled for the upcoming fiscal year, including upgrades for Jordans Point Park (budgeted at $335,000) and repairs to city hall (budgeted at $320,000).
One big increase from the draft of the capital improvements plan is an increase in the city’s portion of the Floyd S. Kay Vocational Center (now the Rockbridge Innovation Center) renovation project. The draft plan released in April had that item budgeted at $1,215,240, but based on the most recent estimates, the city’s portion of the project will be between $1,690,433 and $1,878,000.
The city will also see more than $3.6 million in street work funded through the state’s department of transportation in the coming fiscal year, including the North Main Street entry corridor project, as well as on South Main Street and Thornhill Road. Other capital plans include $162,720 to upgrade Moses Mill Bridge in Jordans Point Park and $64,000 for drainage improvements on Diamond Street and $14,000 for construction of a crosswalk at the intersection of Lime Kiln Road and McLaughlin Street.
Tom Contos, who lives on McLaughlin Street near the Lime Kiln Road intersection, wrote an email to the city prior to a public hearing on the budget and capital improvements plan on April 20 asserting that the proposed improvements “are costly and will be counter-productive.”
“This is a crossing where elementary school children often walk unaccompanied [to a park] with a playground located at the corner [of the intersection],” he wrote. “While the project does add the essential crosswalk, it makes the crossing wider to prioritize vehicle traffic, which increasingly includes heavy tractortrailer traffic serving Kendal at Lexington.
“This project seems to address problems that do not exist or were created by other recent changes initiated by the city,” he continued. “In particular, the addition of a center stripe on McLaughlin has created unsafe conditions for pedestrians by forcing traffic to travel close to the narrow sidewalk.”
He also noted that the project would require the removal of several trees, including “a mature healthy sycamore tree” and recommended that the project “should be reviewed by the tree board in the light of recent public concerns.”
The city has also budgeted a one-time expense of $20,000 for the Rockbridge Area Relief Association to help fund renovations to the organization’s Neighborhood Kitchen facilities, including adding a waiting room and private intake offices. RARA director Lindsey Pérez addressed Council during the public hearing on the budget April 20 and thanked the city for including the money in next year’s budget.
“The additional support of City Council will provide us with the infrastructure to expand our services and allow us to continue delivering services to residents of the city and the surrounding area for many years to come,” she said.
