By Ed Smith
Buena Vista’s gap between planned expenditures and projected revenues for next year has been reduced from $1.7 million to $951,000 over the past few weeks as City Council prepares to take a proposed budget to a public hearing on May 15.
City Council’s budget and finance committee is holding work sessions today, April 30, and tomorrow, May 1, at 3:30 p.m. both days, to continue the process of paring down expenditures and searching for new sources of revenues in order to balance the budget.
See BV page B12 Among the major reductions in expenditures proposed would be to reduce the planned transfers from the general fund to parks and recreation by $195,000 and to the schools by $127,726.
The proposed reduction in the appropriation to the schools is based on a loss of state funding for two school resource officers. The reduction in the transfer to parks and recreation would be offset by proposed increases to swimming pool and camping fees at Glen Maury Park.
The budget and finance committee has been scouring the city’s schedule of fees for services and has found that many of these fees haven’t been raised in years and are way less than those of neighboring jurisdictions.
The committee is proposing a $1 increase to the fee for admission to the swimming pool from $4 to $5 for ages 13 and up, $3 to $4 for ages 4 to 12 and $2 to $3 for nonswimmers. Season passes to the swimming pool would be raised from $80 to $100 per person, $100 to $200 for a family of four, and $25 to $35 for each additional family member.
New fees for camping would be as follows: full service (water, electric and sewer), $60 per night; water and electric only, $50 per night; and tent, $40 per night. The proposed new monthly rate for full-service camping would be $500. There would no longer be a differentiation for camping rates based for city residents and non-residents.
The committee is proposing to increase fees at Green Hill Cemetery for purchasing plots and grave openings. The proposal is to raise the price of plots from $900 to $1,200 for city residents and $1,200 to $1,500 for non-residents. Grave openings for caskets would be raised from $750 to $1,000 and for urns from $200 to $500.
The committee also discussed raising fees for curb and gutter, water and sewer tap connections, storm water management, zoning and building permits.
The monthly trash collection fee is currently $21. Committee members asked Steve Bolster, director of finance, to research how much money would be generated if this fee was raised by $2.
Bolster was also asked to look into establishing a tax on cigarettes in Buena Vista. Rockbridge County and Lexington began taxing cigarettes at 25 cents a pack a few years ago. In the county, that tax raised $220,230 in fiscal year 2024. In Lexington, the cigarette tax raised $52,500 in fiscal year 2024.
The current timetable is for Buena Vista’s budget work to be completed in time to advertise a budget and tax rate in next week’s newspaper (May 7). A public hearing would then be held during City Council’s regular meeting on May 15 and a special meeting to adopt a budget would be held on May 29.
