Charles City Board of Supervisors adopt $22.5 million budget for FY2024-25

Charles City’s Board of Supervisors adopted their FY2024-25 budget as part of Tuesday night’s regular meeting.

County leaders unanimously adopted the $22,583,720 budget for the upcoming cycle. That amount is slightly higher than the original $22.4 million projection, but still includes the three-cent tax increase.

The three-cent tax increase to 69 cents per $100 of assessed value will add $316,890 to the budget. County Administrator Michelle Johnson indicated that those funds would be used to hire three additional firefighters, two new deputies, and purchase one new sheriff’s vehicle. Johnson cited her previous comments from the March meeting, saying that nearly 4,700 calls for service were made in the county last year, as well as meeting mandates imposed to have EMTs (emergency medical technicians) certified to handle advanced life services (ALS).

Several of the remaining categories will be level-funded for the upcoming fiscal year. The school system is slated to receive $6.7 million in funding but does include a three-percent increase in pay to teachers. Social services ($472,853), CVTA ($660,000), and utilities ($327,000) will also remain level funded.

Johnson said during the March meeting that Waste Management is still in negotiations about a contract renewal with a Richmond entity. She added that she erred on the side of caution because they don’t want to overbudget for uncertain funds.

Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) come in at a total of $692,182. In total, the county reduced its budget by $227,690, with many of those funds being the result of not filling in vacancies of job openings. The fire department received the biggest bump in the budget, increasing by $637,464 to assist with medical services, equipment, and additional hires.