As budget season advances, the Lynchburg City Council will meet with two local boards that asked for more money than they received in the city manager’s proposed spending plan.
At a presentation last month, City Manager Wynter Benda called the city’s proposed budget for the 2027 fiscal year a “maintenance budget,” designed to sustain the city’s current level of services and investments without introducing new initiatives or cuts.
The Greater Lynchburg Transit Company and Lynchburg City Schools requested increases in the city’s contribution to their budgets, which include a combination of federal, state and local funding, for the fiscal year that begins July 1 and continues through June 30, 2027. The city’s proposed budget gives the two bodies a bump up in funding, but not in the manner or to the extent they requested.
Public budget information sessions
Lynchburg residents can learn about the proposed budget at a series of information sessions this week. The informal drop-in meetings are scheduled for:
- Thursday, 3 to 5 p.m., at Bruster’s in Ward 4
- Friday, 10 a.m. to noon, at River Ridge Mall in Ward 3
- Friday, 3 to 5 p.m., at MayLynn’s Creamery Boonsboro in Ward 1
- Saturday, 10 a.m. to noon, at Lynchburg Community Market in Ward 2
The first time residents can weigh in on the proposed budget in front of the city council will be during a public hearing scheduled for 6 p.m. April 23 in city hall.
Additional meeting information and budget resources, including a capital improvement project dashboard and general fund dashboard, can be found on the city’s budget webpage.
On Tuesday, the boards of both bodies will meet with the city council to run the numbers. The joint work session with the Greater Lynchburg Transit Company’s board is scheduled for 2 p.m., and the joint work session with the school board is scheduled for 4 p.m. Both meetings will be held at the IT Conference Room at 3550 Young Place and can be viewed online.
After the work sessions, the city council will travel back to city hall for a 7 p.m. meeting to hear residents’ input on two properties: historic downtown warehouses proposed to be converted into apartments, and a group home that recently relocated.
Here’s Cardinal’s guide to the packed agenda.
Transit system seeks local funding boost amid rising costs and diminishing grants
The Greater Lynchburg Transit Company asked for about $3.7 million from the city for the 2027 fiscal year, nearly double the $1.9 million it received in the 2026 fiscal year. The city manager’s proposed budget for 2027 keeps the city’s contribution at $1.9 million.
When state and federal dollars are factored in, the public transit system operated with a budget of more than $10 million in the 2026 fiscal year. With an expected decrease in external funding and the proposed flat level of city funding, the projected 2027 spending plan for the transit system is $8.3 million.
The state’s share of a ridership incentive program will shrink in 2027, a separate state grant for microtransit services will expire and other state funding is in flux, according to presentation materials from the transit company’s March board retreat. As that state funding diminishes, the transit company has a smaller pot to use as a match for federal funding, which shrinks its budget further.
Meanwhile, the transit system’s costs are increasing with the rising price of labor, insurance, vehicles and their parts, and fuel, according to the agenda packet for Tuesday’s meeting.
The city has proposed allocating an additional $800,000 in one-time funding to the transit system “to help bridge the immediate funding gap and preserve federal match funding,” according to a letter that city staff sent to city council members and transit board members. The city has also proposed extending an additional $500,000 in one-time funding to conduct a study to “guide long-term transit investment and ensure decisions are data-driven and financially sustainable,” according to the letter.
The transit system is already participating in four transportation studies in 2026 and 2027, according to Tuesday’s agenda packet. The transit board could seek state grants for another study if it’s deemed necessary, but “these are things the GLTC would want to partner and collaborate with the City on, and not push it through FY27 at the full expense of the City / GLTC,” transit board members wrote in a responding letter to city staff.
The transit system may need to eliminate and combine some bus routes if its 2027 funding falls short, according to Tuesday’s agenda packet. The service cuts would add to the recently approved suspension of Sunday bus routes. The GLTC board voted earlier this month to temporarily stop Sunday service starting on May 3 due to a shortage of bus drivers; the service would be reinstated if more drivers are hired.
City schools seek local boost beyond teacher pay raises
Lynchburg City Schools asked the city for $46.6 million for the 2027 fiscal year, up $4.5 million from what the city contributed last year.
The city’s proposed budget for 2027 recommends giving the schools $44.2 million — a $2.1 million boost from last year, which would cover the city’s share of projected state compensation increases for teachers.
Additional local funding, if received, would be allocated to create new positions — including three middle-school deans, two special education supervisors and an early childhood student support specialist — expand the division’s alternative education program, and secure other operations upgrades.
Outside the budget book: Public hearings scheduled for new apartments, group home
After the joint work sessions with the transit company’s board and school board, the city council will host two public hearings where residents can weigh in on decisions about Lynchburg properties.
The first public hearing centers on a decision to rezone and amend a land-use map for downtown historic buildings that a developer plans to convert into apartments.
The warehouses at 609 Dunbar Drive and 612 12th St. were built in 1845 and could be transformed into 28 apartment units if the rezoning is approved. The 12th Street structure was an antebellum tobacco factory that served as a hospital during the Civil War.
The second public hearing is scheduled to allow the Miller Home for Girls to receive a conditional-use permit to use a residential building at 271 Riverside Drive as a group home for up to eight people. The nonprofit Miller Home provides both short- and long-term housing and guidance to girls who cannot live with their families due to safety concerns and health issues.
The Miller Home is currently using the property as a group home, after its leaders consulted with the city’s zoning division in September and were advised that the property was appropriate for that use. Upon further review of city and state code, city staff determined that a conditional-use permit is required. The Miller Home started the process to receive a permit in the new year.
The resolution to grant the permit to the nonprofit includes three conditions:
- The building’s maximum occupancy will be eight individuals up to 21 years old;
- The Miller Home will be regulated as a child-caring institution by the Department of Social Services;
- Absent further action from the city council, 271 Riverside Drive can be used only as a child-caring institution regulated by the Department of Social Services, or any by-right use of a building in that area’s low-medium density residential district.
