City revenues have dropped every year for the past four years. To see how your real estate taxes have changed click here.
As a result, we have cut some services. We expect we will cut more next year. To prevent worse cuts, the City Council this year raised the real estate tax rate by 6 cents and raised some user fees, such as recreation center memberships. It was a difficult decision, but the tax rate is still the lowest among major cities in Hampton Roads.
Every budget has two sides – expenses and revenues. The first two questions dealt with expenses. Now consider revenues. We expect real estate tax revenues in Virginia Beach may fall another three percent next year. That will require more service cuts. The alternative would be a small increase in revenues by raising some taxes or fees.
Would you be willing to absorb slightly higher taxes or fees to help your top priorities?
After answering this question please return to the topic page to respond to the City Budget and Budget Additions topics.