Martinsville’s ongoing budget talks will continue at Tuesday’s 5 p.m. regular session at the Museum of Natural History Walker Lecture Hall.
The council’s visit to the museum marks the second stop of their tour, in which they hold meetings at each of Martinsville’s six precincts instead of their usual meeting places at the administration building or Baldwin Building. The museum will serve as the temporary meeting place for the city’s second precinct.
Earlier, in February, councilors kicked off their tour at Pilgrim Baptist Church in the first precinct. Topics ranged from police reports to community development and refuse updates.
Officials are treating the second precinct meeting as another community meeting in which residents, particularly those of the second, are encouraged to attend and take part.
Councilors will also take part of the meeting to go over details of the 2025-2026 fiscal year’s budget. On April 1, staff presented the proposed budget to councilors during their regular session.
“This document serves as a financial plan that explains the financial structure and operations,” reads budget information provided by staff. “It provides projections for the current year’s financial activity and compares this information to historical trends.”
City staff touted their recommendation to not increase taxes in the upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1.
Currently, Martinsville’s property rate is 99 cents per $100 valuation. Councilors must consider setting the tax rate in the midst of the city’s most recent property reevaluation.
According to officials, the city experienced a median property value increase of 54.3%. This is in addition to the total reassessed value of real estate that rose by 37.65%.
Councilors are concerned that tax rates based on the reassessed values might be prohibitively expensive for many residents. Among the major budgetary topics is the suggestion to possibly reduce the 99-cent tax rate to reduce the impact reassessment will have on residents.
Ideas include reducing the tax rate to limit the financial impact on residents while still allowing for growth. Staff have said that a tax rate of 75 cents per $100 valuation would result in no additional property tax revenue, despite the reassessed values.
Currently, staff are suggesting a tax rate of 82 cents, which would split the difference between keeping the current rate and a reduction to 75 cents.
