Your utility costs are going up in July under city's new budget

This fiscal year’s budget sees the city’s general funds increase to roughly $950 million — a 13% increase from the previous year.

The increase in utility rates, which includes increases of 3.75% for natural gas, 4% for water, 6.5% for wastewater and 8.75% for storm water, will help cover the cost of the general funds increase that the city estimates will cost consumers an average $8.86 per month.

The rest will come from the city’s anticipated 7.7% increase in real estate tax collection as a result of higher property assessments.

Additionally, the budget calls for an 8% pay increase to all city employees with an $18 minimum wage and an additional $21.2 million in funding for Richmond Public Schools.

“I proposed a strategic plan to rebuild our city infrastructure, restructure our government to be more efficient, reinvigorate economic opportunity, reimagine and revitalize public safety and invest in our children and families,” Mayor Levar Stoney stated in a release following the vote.

The increase in general and capital funds will result in investments in affordable housing, schools, public safety and efficient government.

The budget sees $10 million allocated to the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund every year over the next five years for a total of $50 million. This comes on the heels of the city’s announcement that it is in an affordable housing crisis.

In late-February, the Richmond School Board approved its proposed $228 million budget. The city voted to allocate $221 million, a 10.5% increase from the previous year. The bulk of these funds will go toward teacher raises.

Additionally, the city plans to set aside $200 million for school modernization efforts, $15 million for Fox Elementary and $2.5 million to address general school maintenance needs.

This year’s budget, despite pleas from residents, will not see a change to real estate or property tax rates, which will remain at $1.20 per $100 of assessed real estate value and $3.70 per $100 of assessed personal property value.

“I know that some people are going to be very upset because we did not get to lower the real estate tax this year,” Eighth district council member Reva Trammell said. “Sometimes you have to sacrifice something that you put forward to make sure that we keep our city employees, especially public safety.”

City employees are expected to receive an increase to their wages. The previous budget also saw dramatic increases to city employee wages with at least a 5% increase and a minimum $17 an hour rate.

Both this budget and the previous one pushed for higher city employee raises in order to decrease turnover and recruit more employees.

The final decision to approve the budget comes after months of discussions with city council making their own proposed amendments to the agenda, many of which did not make it to the final budget.

Following the vote, all council members thanked their staff and administration officials for the months-long collaborative effort when it came to finalizing its spending plan.

“We are (making) historic investments in our CIP and our schools,” Fifth district council member Stephanie Lynch said. “There’s really, really great stuff in here that we can be proud of as a city.”