The Albemarle County government recently announced a $3.3 million budget shortfall, caused largely by a downturn in the housing market, will result in funding cuts for education and general government spending.
"Our cuts are related to a slowdown in the housing market," said Laura Vinzant, senior budget analyst for Albemarle County. "The slowdown in the housing market [has been] quicker and sharper than we thought it would be."
So far this year, the county has seen an increase of less than 1 percent in reassessments compared to a nearly 15-percent increase last year, Vinzant said. This equates to far less tax revenue than the county was expecting.
Albemarle County Executive Robert Tucker, who recently spoke about the revenue cuts on WINA-FM, announced that the county plans to compensate for the revenue cuts in part by hiring fewer new staff members and also plans to cut $1.9 million from the school system's budget and $1.4 million from general government spending.
"Right now Mr. Tucker has asked departments [within the Albemarle County Government] to scrutinize their spending and think about keeping vacant positions open," Vinzant said.
According to John Knapp, senior economist at the Weldon Cooper Center For Public Service and author of a study about the economic impact of the University on the surrounding community, the off-Grounds housing of University staff and students has not contributed to this downturn.
According to Knapp, as far as the prosperity of the local area goes, the University's presence "is a plus," noting that this housing has had an overall positive effect on the real estate market in Albemarle County. This impact has not, however, counteracted the overall real estate downturn in Albemarle County.
"The county and city face a tremendous downturn in real estate markets, and since the level of property taxes is based on market evaluations, this means [Albemarle] County and the City [of Charlottesville] are going to feel the effects a great deal," Knapp said.
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