County Administration Bryan J. Hill released his proposed Fiscal Year 2018 financial plan for James City County on March 31. The proposed plan for FY2018 is 1.4% over the FY2017 budget at $196M with no tax rate increases.
The proposed FY2018 budget is the second year of the FY2017/2018 biennial budget. During this upcoming fiscal year, the budget will reflect the process to align County funding to the Strategic Plan and goal areas.
- General fund revenues are expected to increase by 1.4% or approximately $2.8M. This is $300,000 less than originally planned.
- Of the $2.8M revenue increase, 75% or over $2M is allocated to the WJCC School Division. This increases the County’s contribution approximately 2% which is essentially the same as the FY2018 plan despite the reduction in the Sales Tax for Education transfer from the Commonwealth of Virginia.
- Other regional entities, such as the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail and Colonial Behavioral Health, receive the next largest portion and Constitutional Officers also receive an increase.
- The County’s five year capital improvement program totaling $75.7M includes a focus on Capital Maintenance.
- The budget continues to allocate $1.5M as a match for road improvements which allows for additional state revenue sharing opportunities.
- With more than 15,000 open building permits within the Primary Service Area, the budget recommends a Building Permits Examiner position to address the increased number of plans received.
- To address the growing demand for public safety, the budget includes proposed funding for additional police officer positions and a change in career ladders within the Fire Department to retain a qualified EMS staff.
- A merit based pay raise from 0-4% as well as funding a health insurance increase of 3.5% are proposed for County staff.
- The expansion of a County-wide volunteer program is proposed to improve efficiency and enhance service delivery.
- The James City Service Authority (JCSA) proposes to implement the third year of its 5-year rate increase with sewer fees increasing to $2.99 and three water tiers increasing $.33 to $1.56 cents per thousand gallons.
The proposed budget including information on revenue is available for review on the County’s website.
After a series of work sessions and community meetings, the Board of Supervisors will vote on the proposed FY2018 County budget and JCSA budget at the April 25 meeting at 5 p.m. Once adopted, the budget will cover July 1, 2017-June 30, 2018. Opportunities for citizen input are as follows:
Community meetings by voting districts, each at 6:30 p.m.
April 10 – Kevin Onizuk, Jamestown District – Legacy Hall, 4301 New Town Avenue
April 12 – Ruth Larson, Berkeley District – Jamestown High School Auditorium, 3751 John Tyler Highway
April 13 – John McGlennon, Roberts District – Government Center, 101 Mounts Bay Road, Building F
April 17 – Michael Hipple, Powhatan District – James City County Recreation Center, 5301 Longhill Road
April 19 – Sue Sadler, Stonehouse District – James City County Library, 7770 Croaker Road
April 1 – Public hearing on proposed County budget and JCSA budget, 5:00 p.m. Board of Supervisors meeting.
The Board of Supervisors will hold budget work sessions at 4 p.m. on April 18 and 20 in the Board’s work session room at 101 Mounts Bay Road, Building F. Although there are no opportunities for public comments during work sessions, they can be viewed on JCC TV Cox Cable channel 48 and 1048, and streamed live and on demand at jamescitycountyva.gov. The proposed FY2018 budget can be viewed and downloaded at jamescitycountyva.gov/budget and copies are available for reading at public libraries and the County’s Satellite Services Office, 3127 Forge Road, Toano.
Media Contact: Jody Puckett, Communications Director
757-259-6605; jody.puckett@jamescitycountyva.gov