City Council

The New River City 10 Robertson St. April 27, 2020 Radford, Virginia Regular Meeting Number 19 of Radford City Council, F.Y. 2019-2020 The special meeting of the Radford City Council was convened at 5:00 p.m. in Council Chambers, 10 Robertson Street, Radford, VA. The Mayor of the City, Raymond David Horton, as well as all other members of City Council were present VIA ZOOM were Mrs. Jessie Foster, Mr. Robert Gropman, Dr. Richard Harshberger, and Ms. Naomi Huntington. Others present were as follows: Mr. David Ridpath, City Manager Mrs. Jenni Wilder, City Clerk Following the Pledge of Allegiance, Mayor Horton led citizens in a moment of reflection. OLD BUSINESS: SUBJECT: Ordinance 1729: F.Y. 2021 Budget SUMMARY: The Budget for F.Y. 2021 has been delivered to City Council from the City Manager, as required by the City Charter. Revenues are balanced with expenditures in the amount of $59,514,312. The proposed budget provides sufficient revenues to pay for expenditures, maintains positive fund balances, provides resources for maintenance and improvements to infrastructure, supports core customer services and equipment replacement, acknowledges the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as identifies funds for payments to service the City debt. The funds are summarized as follows: General Funds $26,802,275 Street Maintenance Fund 2,505,953 Water/Wastewater Fund 4,639,264 Electric Fund 20,293,253 Solid Waste Fund 1,524,677 Transit Fund 3,002,981 Internal Services Fund 745,909 In addition to the City Budget, the City Council is also considering the F.Y. 2021 Radford City School Board Budget. The $36,460,148 budget was approved by the school board on March 24, 2020. The funds are summarized as follows: Operating Fund $17,540,748 Cafeteria Fund 684,960 Grants Fund 1,452,368 Textbook Fund 246,524 Capital Projects Fund 414,100 ACTION: Dr. Harshberger made a motion to approve Ordinance 1729 on the second reading, Ms. Foster seconded the motion. VOTE: AYES: Mrs. Foster, Mr. Gropman, Dr. Harshberger, Ms. Huntington, Mayor Horton NAYES: None-0 SUBJECT: Ordinance 1730: Tax Rates for Calendar Year 2020 SUMMARY: The F.Y. 2021 Budget is supported by revenues generated from taxes, fees and utility rates. Ordinance #1730 is an Ordinance to establish the tax rates for Real Estate, Personal Property and Machinery and Tools for the 2020 calendar year. The proposed F.Y. 2021 Budget reflects a tax rate of .78 for real property. The rate is reduced from .82 cents to .78 cents to reflect the increase valuation from reassessment resulting in the same levy as the 2019 tax year. The following are the proposed tax rates for the 2020 calendar year.  Real Property tax would increase to $0.78 per $100 of assessed value  Machinery and Tools tax remains at $1.76 per $100 of assessed value  Tangible Personal Property remains at $2.44 per $100 of assessed value as described in section 15 through 19 of 58.1-3503A of the code of Virginia (Personal Property, vehicles, etc.)  Tangible Personal Property remains at $1.76 per $100 of assessed value as described in section 15 through 19 of 58.1-3503A of the code of Virginia (Business Personal Property) ACTION: Ms. Foster made a motion to approve Ordinance 1730 on the second reading, Dr. Harshberger seconded the motion. VOTE: AYES: Mrs. Foster, Mr. Gropman, Dr. Harshberger, Ms. Huntington, Mayor Horton NAYES: None-0 CITY COUNCIL COMMENTS: Ms. Foster stated that her Moment of Silence was dedicated to Mr. Roy E. Shalkin Jr. Ms. Foster shared stories that feature the best in Radford including someone paying two months of rent for Latino’s Taste, the Bear Hunt that is going on community wide, and the Shelter providing food. Ms. Foster asked for community members to send more feel good stories to her. Mr. Gropman said that he only has a few more meetings and this is all becoming bittersweet. Dr. Harshberger said election day is May 19, 2020. Ms. Huntington stated that the random acts of kindness mentioned by Ms. Foster are heartwarming and highlight our community. Mayor Horton stated that Radford is still doing wonderful things and going in a positive direction. Mr. Gropman made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 5:45 p.m. seconded by Ms. Foster. VOTE: AYES: Ms. Foster Mr. Gropman, Dr. Harshberger, Ms. Huntington, Mayor Horton NAYES: None-0 ATTEST: Jennifer G. Wilder, Clerk of Council