CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) — Charlottesville City Council approved the operating budget for the fiscal year of 2027, including an ordinance raising the city’s real estate tax by 1-cent, during a brief special meeting Monday evening ahead of the April 15 deadline. The council passed both ordinances unanimously.

The approval came days after the advertised 2-cent real estate tax hike was cut in half earlier this week. The now approved tax hike will increase the real estate tax from $0.98 for every $100 to $0.99, instead of the initially advertised $1.

“Our team went back and with an even finer-toothed comb than they did before, they were able to find another million dollars to allow us to only raise by one penny instead of two,” Vice Mayor Natalie Oschrin told WINA Morning News on Wednesday.

The adoption of the budget was the only item on the agenda for special meeting. The total general fund expenditures for the budget is $280, 325,181.

City Manager Sam Sanders said during the meeting it was a very challenging budget cycle this year, with Sanders and his staff facing a double-digit budget gap, the largest he said he has seen since coming to Charlottesville in 2021.

“We always anticipate that when we’re putting the budget together that, just the cost of doing business, things are gonna cost more,” he told Cville Right Now after the meeting.
”There’ll be new things that have been identified as needed priorities. Council has certain things that they may shift from one year to the next that they want to prioritize this year at a greater rate than they did the prior year.”

Sanders works with Director of Budget and Grants Management Krisy Hammill each year to compare the request from year-to-year and eliminate the budget gap.

Hammill received praise from Oschrin on WINA Morning News, with the Vice Mayor saying, “There’s no one like her. She knows it back-to-front. She understands where all the pieces go.” Sander also gave a nod to her colleague during the meeting.

“She was the one who probably lost the most sleep over trying to pull the levers on getting that gap closed,” He said. “But it’s a sign of the need that exists in our community. It’s a sign of the passion of the various initiatives and priorities that we have so much interest in pursuing.”

Sanders was also pleased the city was able to lower the tax hike due to its increased revenue.

“People are having difficulties paying their real estate taxes and other bills,” he said afterward. “So if we can relieve some of that, it’s always best to try.”

The new budget will go into effect on July 1, and Sanders said the focus for him and his staff will now be getting ready for that start date.

“It’s always a challenge, just trying to balance all the different things,” he said. “Because everything is a priority. Then you have to determine how much of a priority it can be.”