In addition to a variety of candidates for several public offices, Lexington voters will also be voting this fall on a referendum that would create a new, temporary sales tax to generate revenue to be put toward school renovation and construction projects.
Lexington City Council this past Thursday unanimously voted to approve a resolution that would allow the city to petition the court to put the referendum on the ballot in November’s general election. The tax, which would be an additional 1 percent retail sales tax, is authorized by the state budget bill that was passed earlier this year. The bill amended a portion of the state code that allowed some localities to levy this tax to permit all localities within the commonwealth to put the issue to voters.
City Manager Tom Carroll, in his report to Council on the referendum, said that this tax, if enacted, would generate approximately $1.4 million annually. In the provisions of the state code section that permit localities to levy this tax, the tax must expire within 20 years of implementation. Lexington is proposing this tax only be collected for five years and would expire in 2032.
The funds raised by this tax would be earmarked for school construction or major renovation projects. There are several projects that the city and its schools have identified in the next five years that could be paid for with this tax revenue which will cost an estimated $7.5 million. There are several in the 2027 fiscal year, including $1,373,600 in improvements at Rockbridge County High School, which includes more than $900,000 for the city’s portion of the gym in the planned Rockbridge Recreation Center, $250,000 for replacement of tennis courts and $212,500 for the city’s share of a proposed astro-turf field for the high school. There are also several projects coming in the next few years, including an estimated $4.3 million in educational facilities and buildings at Rockbridge County High School planned for the 2028-29 fiscal year and projects at Waddell Elementary School and Lylburn Downing Middle School totaling $1.8 million, which are currently being planned for 2030 or 2031.
Residents of Buena Vista will be voting on a similar referendum in November, with the City Council voting last month to move forward with it in hopes of using the funds to pay for renovations at Parry Mc-Cluer High School. The Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors have not discussed or voted on putting any such referendum on the ballot this year for county voters to consider.
