City Council will meet Tuesday, June 19, in a business session at 7 p.m., followed by a work session. Both sessions are open to the public.
The business session will be held in the Council Chambers on the fourth floor of the Municipal Building, which is located at 427 Patton St. The work session will be held on the same floor, but across the hall in the Council Conference Room. In work sessions, Council reviews non-routine matters that will be voted upon in future business meetings.
River City TV, the city’s government access channel, will air the business session. Watch it live on cable (Comcast channel 10 and Gamewood channel 122) or streaming on the River City TV Facebook page. River City TV does not air work sessions.
During the business session, City Council is scheduled to vote on the proposed City budget for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1 and continues through June 30, 2019. The proposed budget maintains basic city services and programs, provides enhanced benefits for public safety employees, and invests additional money in crime reduction initiatives, public schools and projects designed to grow Danville.
The proposed budget also includes an average 2 percent pay-for-performance raise for employees, covers a major increase in the cost of employee health insurance, and pays a portion of the increase in retirement contributions for employees that occurred because of new formulas associated with increased life expectancy.
To help pay for these costs, the proposed budget includes a 0.5 percentage point increase in the meals tax from 6.5 percent to 7 percent. Real estate and personal property tax rates and base rates for utilities will remain unchanged.
The budget also includes fee increases for airport hangar rentals and building inspections as well as fee adjustments to accommodate the acceptance of credit cards for payment.
The budget does not include additional funding for school operations, but Danville Public Schools will be allowed to retain up to $2 million in unspent local funds from the current fiscal year. Any unspent funds beyond $2 million would be placed in a capital reserve fund for future school capital needs.
In addition to voting on the proposed City budget, City Council also is scheduled to approve the school budget adopted by the School Board for the next school year.
In other matters, votes are scheduled Tuesday on the following matters:
- Appropriating economic development incentive grants secured for Kyocera SGS Precision Tool, Overfinch North America and Engineered BioPharmaceuticals.
- Accepting a state grant for the Commonwealth Attorney’s office to be used to fund the salary of an attorney or victim’s advocate to work in the Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court dealing with victims of domestic violence.
- Accepting $173,611 in state and federal money for the continuation of the victim witness assistance program operated through the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office.
- Amending the budget to include a grant from the Danville Regional Foundation for an Eagle Scout project at Dan Daniel Park.
- Appointing/reappointing 19 citizens to various boards and commissions, including the Utility Commission, Social Services Advisory Board, and the Airport Commission.
- Approving a lease agreement with Norfolk Southern for landscaping on Craghead Street.
- Vacating right-of-way on Bridge Street where 15 flag poles are located. The move would allow the flag poles to be completely located on property owned by the Industrial Development Authority. A public hearing will precede the vote.
- Vacating 0.13 of an acre of right of way along Glen Oak Drive at the request of two adjacent property owners on Stokesland Avenue. A public hearing will precede the vote.
- Updating the City Code to reflect changes in state law along with other minor changes.
- Approving a full service ambulance operator’s permit to LifeCare. A public hearing will precede the vote.
- Exempting Ashlawn View LLC from local real property taxation. Ashlawn View LLC provides elderly persons and handicapped persons with a four bedroom housing facility and services at 119 Ashlawn Drive. A public hearing will precede the vote.
- Approving a moral obligation to back a $1.27 million loan from Virginia Community Capital for debt service on the purchase and up-fit of a shell building in the Cane Creek Industrial Park. The building, located at 500 Cane Creek Parkway, was first used by GOK International, but now will be used by Unison.
During the work session, City Council will review the latest financial updates and then close the meeting as allowed by state law to discuss a prospective business or industry related to economic development, acquisition of real property or disposition of publicly held real property, and personnel matters.