Residents’ first chance to weigh in on Lynchburg’s 2027 fiscal year budget is scheduled for Thursday, amid ongoing conversations about how money will be allocated to the city’s schools and transit system, where capital improvement dollars are being invested and how reintroduced resident fees will factor into the spending plan.
Public hearings for the water and stormwater rates and the proposed budget as a whole will start at 6 p.m. at city hall.
At a presentation last month, City Manager Wynter Benda called the city’s proposed budget a “maintenance budget,” designed to carry on the city’s current level of operations in an inflationary environment, without making cuts or raising taxes. The budget presents no new citywide initiatives and is rather “intentionally focused on sustaining what we have built, protecting core services, and ensuring residents continue to see and feel the benefits” of prior investments in public safety, infrastructure and other city sectors, according to the proposed budget.
In a series of budget meetings scheduled for the coming weeks, that proposed budget could change depending on the council’s actions. The final budget reading and approval is scheduled for May 26.
In the meantime, the proposed spending plan, interactive budget and capital improvement program dashboards, and other budget materials are available for residents to view on the city’s website.
Here’s a look at five budget topics that could come to the mic on Thursday night.
Some city fees proposed to return, water bills expected to rise
The proposed budget does not include changes to the city’s tax rates.
It does include an increase in water and stormwater rates, resulting in an estimated additional $1.06 on the average residential monthly water bill. The water and stormwater funds are self-supporting and “must remain financially sustainable to meet regulatory requirements and infrastructure needs,” Benda said at last month’s budget presentation.
With the increase, Lynchburg’s average water bill remains below the state average and below averages for nearby Amherst, Bedford and Campbell counties, said Tim Mitchell, director of water resources, at a budget retreat earlier this month.
The proposed budget also includes a plan to reintroduce the city’s trash collection fee and motor vehicle license fee.
The trash collection fee would be $10 per month, and it would be added to utility bills. The fee was first waived in the 2024 fiscal year and “was intended to provide temporary alternate relief for residents,” said Donna Witt, the city’s chief financial officer, in an email. But “this ongoing revenue is needed to assist in offsetting the cost to provide trash collection” and other services such as leaf collection, the city’s household hazardous waste event, a tire collection service and drop-off recycling, she said.
According to the proposed budget, the motor vehicle license fee, also waived since the 2024 fiscal year “based on City Council’s desire to provide tax relief to citizens,” would be $29.50 for vehicles weighing 4,000 pounds or less and $34.50 for those above 4,000 pounds. The fee would come due once each year and would be included on the personal property tax bill.
The trash fee would bring in about $2.5 million in revenue, and the motor vehicle license fee would bring in about $1.5 million, Witt said.
Lynchburg city school leaders seek additional funding
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 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.
When asked at a work session last week if the partial boost would work for the schools, Superintendent Kristy Somerville-Midgette said, “I would say no, because if we requested $4.5, we needed $4.5.” She continued to say that the schools “will obviously adjust” to a smaller budget if necessary, but that investments in special education, alternative education and other priorities of her proposed budget are needs, not wants, for the division.
Regardless, the division is set to receive a separate $30 million from the city for capital improvements for school infrastructure and maintenance this upcoming fiscal year — the second of three installments that will total $60 million.
Transit system in search of funding commitment
The Greater Lynchburg Transit Company, like the city school system, asked for more money than it received in the proposed budget.
The transit system is facing increasing costs with the rising price of labor, insurance, vehicles and their parts, and fuel, said the transit company’s general manager, Josh Moore, at a work session with the city council last week. Coupled with diminishing state funds — and thus a smaller pot to use as a match for federal funding — the transit system may need to eliminate and combine some bus routes if its 2027 funding falls short, he said.
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.
At the crux of funding decisions is a state grant that would provide $1.5 million over five years for the system to operate its microtransit routes and flex service. The grant steps down every year, requiring the city to put forward about $2.4 million as a local match over the five-year span. Without a clear commitment from the city council for that level of funding over time, the board plans not to accept the grant, board members said at a meeting last week.
The city has proposed allocating an additional $800,000 in one-time funding to the transit system in the 2027 fiscal year “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 budget will grow, mainly because of capital improvement projects
The proposed budget, which includes the city’s general fund, smaller pots such as the airport and water funds, the capital improvement program, and more, totals $620.7 million. That’s about a 12% increase from the adopted 2026 fiscal year budget.
“This increase is primarily due to an increase in projects for the Capital Improvement Program,” the budget reads.
Dozens of building renovations, transportation projects, economic development initiatives, and parks and recreation improvements are included in the capital improvement program, according to the proposed budget, in addition to undertakings specific to sectors such as school capital, airport capital, and water, sewer, and stormwater capital.
Another factor in the overall budget increase, Witt said at the budget retreat, is that the city has opened a new medical insurance fund to cover deductions, insurance claims, premiums and other moving pieces in city employees’ health, dental and vision insurance. Those dollars were set aside elsewhere in the past, but will now be handled in “a more transparent way that actually allows us to take a closer look,” Witt said. “These are the same funds, we’re just accounting for them in a different way, so it’s not really an addition to the budget,” she added.
Workforce investments continue, thanks to surprise savings
A highlight of the proposed budget, Benda said at his presentation last month, is its continued emphasis on city workforce recruitment and retention. Included in the spending plan are a 2.5% cost of living adjustment for general city employees and a continued pay progression plan for sworn police and fire personnel.
The city can invest in its workforce without increasing taxes largely because of an unexpected rate reduction with the Virginia Retirement System, Witt said at the budget retreat. The city will be paying about $3.2 million less to cover its employer contribution to the retirement system in fiscal year 2027 than it did in 2026, Witt said, and that money can be allocated to cover the city’s pay increases.
“A stable and proficient workforce is the cornerstone of effective service delivery to the community and the operating budget reflects the investment made in the City’s employees,” the proposed budget reads. “The foundation of the City’s compensation philosophy rests on the goal of attracting and retaining employees who are qualified, competent, and representative of the community.”
