Charles City’s $21.2 million proposed budget keeps tax rate flat; focuses on CIP, personnel hires

With a focus on personnel and attracting workers to both the county and school system, Charles City County Administrator Michelle Johnson presented her budget at Charles City’s Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday night.

Johnson presented a budget of $21,210,303 to county leaders. That budget includes no tax increase, keeping the equalized rate at 66 cents per $100 of assessed value.

Of the $21,210,303, approximately $11,646,546 will be local dollars for the general fund, a slight decrease from this year’s amount.

In a competitive job market, Johnson is requestion $1,006,624 in new hires to assist with meeting the demands of the community and state mandates that have been passed along to the county. Among her recommendations include a stand-alone deputy county administrator, a communication public relations specialist, an information technology system administrator, an information technology public safety technician, nine firefighters that will be housed at the fire station that is currently being built on Roxbury Road, and two communication officers for Charles City Sheriff’s Office.

Charles City Fire and EMS is expected to receive $1,558,835 ($1,374,321 from the county). The utilities fund is pegged at $560,570, social services at $1,575,843 ($472,853 from the county), and CSA at $590,823 (with the county’s contribution being $218,996).

For the first time in nearly a decade, Charles City schools are slated to receive their full request for the budget. The schools are budgeted to receive $14,252,626, with the county agreeing to a local contribution of $6,502,485.

But there may be more funds on the way if possible. District 2 supervisor Bill Coada asked school board vice-chairwoman about the difficulty to staff schools. Harris responded by saying that there are some grades that do not have full-time teachers, and that it is becoming more difficult to compete with surrounding counties that can offer a higher salary.

“Right now everything is being blamed on money and we’re not fixing the problem,” Coada commented. “It’s not going to change unless we [board of supervisors and school board] work to change it.

“Even with this increase, we still will be at the bottom,” the supervisor continued. “If we can do an eight-percent increase, it would cost us $676,536. I want to see if we can do that.”

Charles City’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) is pegged at $1,708,293. Reconstruction of the wastewater plant at the Courthouse Complex is the big-ticket item at the tune of $968,000. Other items included in the CIP are purchasing two utility vehicles ($72,000), maintenance shop renovations ($90,000), upgraded cameras in the courthouse and library ($137,000), purchasing a Fire/EMS administration vehicle ($65,000), purchase of one sheriff’s vehicle ($62,293), and the purchase of playground for Harrison Park as phase two of their upgrades ($75,000). To assist with the CIP, the county will use unassigned dollars in their fund balance.

A public hearing will be announced in the future to allow citizens to offer feedback. In other news from the board meeting:

–Denied permits for Kinetic Multisport and Rev3 Williamsburg to conduct bicycle racing in the county. Both organizations were denied due to the county’s policy of having one bike race per month within the locality’s borders. If each organization was permitted their race, it would result in two races per month, which is against an ordinance passed in Aug. 2022 by county leaders.

–Announced that Charles City Fire and EMS and Charles City County Volunteer Fire Department (CCVFD) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to allow the latter to continue servicing the county. Among the agreement requires CCVFD to have regular training, documentation on calls, a monthly schedule for volunteers, and reporting statistical information for grant purposes.