A deadlock in the General Assembly will most likely result in Gov. James S. Gilmore III (R) balancing the Commonwealth's budget himself.
After the House of Delegates and the Senate ended their sessions last month without adopting a budget, Gilmore had said he would call a special session of the General Assembly to amend and approve a budget. It is unlikely he will call the session and instead will fix the problem without the help of the General Assembly.
The General Assembly failed to pass a budget after disagreeing on how much to reduce the car tax. The House sided with Gilmore's plan of a 70 percent reduction, but the Senate refused to approve a cut larger than 55 percent. Gilmore said he would veto any budget without the full 70 percent tax cut.
Officials said Charlottesville residents and the University should not experience any additional consequences because of Gilmore's decision to approve the budget himself.
The budget crisis already is affecting several major University projects and may continue to complicate operations in the future.
"It won't make a difference if he [Gilmore] calls the session or not," Del. Mitch Van Yahres (D-Charlottesville) said. "The House and Senate are not willing to negotiate, and there would have been no outcome had there been a special session."
"There will be an end to this crisis, and the outcome will be the budget the governor wanted in the first place," Van Yahres said.
Nancy Rivers, University director of state governmental relations, agreed with Van Yahres and said it was Gilmore's right to choose whether to call a special session.
"The University is preparing for every aspect of what could happen with the budget," Rivers said. "But it's really difficult to predict what's going to happen."
The University needs to continue working as usual, she said. "We're trying to keep our momentum going to make the impact as minor as possible."
Last week, Gilmore ordered all state agencies to freeze hiring and discretionary spending for an undetermined amount of time. Each agency, including institutions of higher education, had until last Friday to submit new, reduced budget requests to the Department of Planning and Budget.
The University last Friday submitted a "worst-case" scenario plan to reduce its budget. Several possible budgeting victims include the new Special Collections Library and the proposed studio arts building, both of which depended on both state and private funds.
"This also means no pay increase for University faculty next year," Van Yahres said.
"This budget crisis has put Charlottesville and the University in limbo," he said. "Limbo's a terrible position to be put into. They have no idea what's going to happen, and it's making it impossible to plan anything for the future."
The University expects to hear back from the state government sometime next week concerning its budget submission, at which point it will determine any additional steps it needs to take.
Gilmore's press office did not return phone calls.
Read More
Virginia Attorney General Speaks On Free Speech And Criminal Justice Reform
By Vyshnavi Tatta | YesterdayMiyares said pursuing repeat criminal offenders is a more crucial step in reducing crime, saying that studies show a small percentage of criminals commit a majority of crimes.
Student Council passes summer budget, bill supporting allergy policy reform
By Arshiya Pant | YesterdayThe biggest expenditure categories outlined in the summer 2024 budget were CIO Consultant funds and Support and Access Services, respectively receiving $67,000 and $65,950.
New Vice President of Research Lori McMahon aims to work towards U.Va.’s 2030 plan
By Caroline Hagood | YesterdayMcMahon said she was drawn to the University after reading the University's 2030 plan and that she was inspired by the vision of President Jim Ryan and other University leaders.
