City of Charlottesville Police will receive pay raises while City residents enjoy decreased property tax rates because of the 2005-2006 City budget, passed by City Council Tuesday evening.
The $106 million budget, prepared by City Manager Gary O'Connell, was adopted by the Council in a 4-1 vote. Lone Republican, Rob Schilling, dissented.
Council members lauded the lowered 5 percent annual property taxes, 4 percent lower than the previous property tax rate.
Vice Mayor Kevin Lynch and Council member Blake Caravati had pressed for the tax reduction, Lynch said.
"It took a while for the majority of Council to be convinced that was an achievable target," Lynch said of the tax rate decrease.
Despite the tax decrease, City expenditures will increase 5 percent according to O'Connell's report.
While taxes decreased, property assessments increased 12 percent, according to Lynch. The assessment increase will cause tax revenues to increase, despite the tax rate reduction.
City employees will see, on average, a 6 percent increase in benefits and 4 percent benefit in real wages, Lynch said.
The City Police Department, which has been rallying for pay increases, will receive a large health care and retirement benefit increase. Lynch said the benefits amount to a 12 percent pay raise, 8 percentage points shy of the 20 percent raise sought by the police.
Council member Kendra Hamilton said the budget development process was challenging.
"The feds and state continually cut back on the money they say they're going to give us, and the municipalities have to pick up the difference," Hamilton said.
According to Hamilton, programs like the Boys and Girls Club that were seen as beneficial to area youth retained City funding, but no additional services were included in this year's budget.
"We had stated that no new programs would get funding," Hamilton said.
Thirteen or 14 City jobs were eliminated for the 2005-2006 year. Costs also were reduced by eliminating some garbage collection.
Lynch cited incarceration costs as the "most rapidly growing cost in the City."
Currently, income from the 1982 Revenue-Sharing Act with Albemarle County helps to pay for the burden of incarcerating residents from outside the City who were arrested within the municipality.
"We need to be getting people out of the criminal justice system," Lynch said.
The budget goes into effect July 1.
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