City Council discusses modernizing Charlottesville Fire Department, potential tax increase and alterations to Comprehensive Plan – The Cavalier Daily

Charlottesville City Council met Monday night to hear presentations on the future of the Fire Department, current COVID-19 statistics, and potential uses for grant funds from the Community Development Block Grant. 

Charlottesville Fire Chief Hezedean Smith opened the meeting with a presentation on plans to modernize the fire department in accordance with the 2020 strategic plan. The strategic plan will guide the department through 2023 and was developed with the insight of community members and an employee work group. Goals include increasing organizational communication, streamlining service provision, sustaining the health and wellness of CFD employees and crafting professional development programs.

“My vision is to enhance the department’s culture and service through transparency, innovation, trust and integrity,” Smith said. 

Smith said the CFD plans to utilize community partnerships with mental and behavioral services, social services and allied health care services to ensure that non-emergency services and social or behavioral services can support the needs of Charlottesville residents. 

“I am committed to ensuring that we appropriately use our partnerships and make sure that we address the mental health needs of the community,” Smith said.  

After the end of a closed session for consultation with legal council regarding a zoning application, the council reconvened for their meeting. 

To resume the meeting, Councilor Sena Magill announced that the Shelter for Help in Emergency is hosting virtual workshops for Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month this February. Each February, Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month is a time in which community organizers highlight the importance of healthy relationships and raise awareness of the impacts of dating violence among teens. The next workshop is Feb. 21. 

Magill also announced a celebration of Black History Month presented by Charles Alexander, an author, columnist and speaker from Charlottesville also known as Alex-Zan. The event is a tribute to the All Burley Reunion, a high school reunion of a historic Black high school in Charlottesville that closed in 1967 and later reopened as a desegregated middle school, and will air on Alex-Zan.com on Feb. 17.   

Dr. Denise Bonds, health director for the Blue Ridge Health District, provided an update on the Blue Ridge Health District’s COVID-19 statistics. Though the omicron variant is characterized by a high transmission rate, the percent positivity rate is trending down within the BRHD at 10.5 percent Monday, compared to 20 percent Jan. 31. 

Hospitalizations remain high, with 14 new COVID-19 patients admitted to the U.Va. Health System hospital Wednesday, per the University COVID-19 Tracker. Charlottesville’s daily case count has been steadily decreasing, with 11 new cases reported on Monday, according to BRHD data.

Following Bonds’ COVID-19 report, Vice Mayor Juandiego Wade spoke in support of Black History Month and the celebration of Black history in Charlottesville. Wade emphasized the importance of teaching about Black culture and history. 

“In the City of Charlottesville, we resolve to teach the true history of all our people in both public schools and public spaces.” Wade said. 

Khristina Hammill, senior budget and management analyst at the City Manager’s office, then presented a proposed 10 percent increase on Charlottesville’s real estate tax. The current real estate tax rate is $0.95 per every $100 of value in a piece of real estate. The City Manager’s office is proposing these changes to address the City’s growing debt, as the current budget is on track to create a $24 million deficit.

Hammill said one possible allocation of City funds — including the tax increase, which would net $9.2 million — would allow the City to allocate $4.6 million to Charlottesville schools, $2.3 million to operations priorities such as staff capacity, projects and equipment, $337,885 for the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant, which provides funding for the CFD to increase the amount of trained emergency responders, and $2 million for affordable housing. 

The tax increase was proposed to cover the five-year Capital Improvement Program plan, including a proposed $75 million school reconfiguration project to add a sixth grade to Buford Middle School. A tax increase of only $0.05 would not suffice to cover these projects and would rapidly generate debt and decrease the available amount in the City’s debt service fund. 

Council member Michael Payne was concerned about the proposed budget changes not covering the necessary expenditures. 

“I just don’t feel like we are having a realistic conversation about the state of our budget,” Payne said. “I feel like where we are right now is reckless and irresponsible, we are not seriously discussing how we are going to pay for housing, climate, or the ability of the city to operate efficiently.” 

The Council recommended that the City Manager advertise the 10 cent increase in real estate taxes in The Daily Progress to make residents aware of the potential impending change.

The Council then considered a potential amendment to the 2021 Comprehensive Plan that would incorporate contents of the Urban Rivanna River Corridor Plan into the Comprehensive Plan. The Rivanna River is formed by the confluence of two tributaries that come together northeast of Charlottesville and flows southeast near the eastern edge of Charlottesville. 

The proposed addition is part of an effort between the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors and the Charlottesville City Council and would help support stakeholder’s efforts to make the river a cleaner and safer space that can serve for community engagement. The Council needed to approve the final draft of the plan, including a minor alteration removing a sentence erroneously left behind from an earlier draft in order to move forward with adding it to the comprehensive plan. 

The Council unanimously approved a motion to approve the plan and Mayor Lloyd Snook expressed his support of the plan’s goals.

“I’m glad we’re getting to it now to recognize the fact that the Rivanna River is an asset to Charlottesville,” Snook said. 

The Council then heard a proposal to lower the speed limit on 5th Street SW from 45 mph to 40 mph, placing the motion on the consent agenda for the next meeting on Feb. 22. 

The final action item involved reprogramming funds from the Community Development Block Grant. When funding City projects, Charlottesville must remain in compliance with CDBG standards, including spending requirements and project timelines. The fire department provided a list of requests for the city to use their allocated money within an appropriate time. These include smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, CPR assist devices, and stove top fire stops. The proposed plan would reprogram the CDBG funds to go towards the fire department’s requests. 

Alex Ikefuna, neighborhood development services director, said not spending the grant money on a qualifying project before May 2, 2022 would put Charlottesville on the list of cities in violation of CDBG.

“It could affect the money that we get in future years if we do not spend that money by May 2,” Ikefuna said. 

Many projects that would qualify require significant planning that would take too much time and would still end with Charlottesville in violation of CDBG. In total, $140,000 must be spent before the May 2 deadline in order to keep remaining grant funds for other projects such as building Habitat for Humanity houses and additional affordable housing efforts. 

When City staff reached out to all City departments to determine if any had CDBG-qualifying needs, the fire department provided a list of requests, including smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, CPR assist devices, and stove top fire stops. Ultimately, a motion was passed 4-1 to allocate the funding to fulfill the fire department’s requests, with Payne as the only no vote.

The next City Council meeting will occur Feb. 22.