Chesterfield residents discussed the county’s “austere” $2.4 billion budget proposal during a Wednesday Board of Supervisors meeting.
Most comments centered on uncertainty about federal actions and their potential local impacts, while other speakers called for increased affordable housing spending.
Clover Hill resident Dave Stritzinger told the board that given the climate in Washington, the county could be planning to spend more than necessary.
“If you think you have enough information, go for it,” he said. “But I don’t.”
Matt Harris, deputy county administrator for finance and administration, previously referred to the proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget as “austere” — a response to the uncertain economic climate out of the nation’s capital. Earlier in the month, he noted the budget was set up to allow county officials to ask the board to make tweaks as the year wears on.
During public budget presentations over the past week, officials have reiterated that they don’t expect Chesterfield to be affected by federal budget cuts.
“You can read in the news a lot of things happening at the federal level,” Shane Hill, the county’s budget manager, said Monday during a virtual town hall broadcast on the county’s Facebook page. “The general fund money is minimally affected by federal revenues, about 1%.”
That fund sits at around $1 billion, and Hill said the federal funds that are contributed largely go toward social services.
Even with Hill’s positive outlook, officials are proposing to leave 175 full-time county positions open, potentially saving about $22.1 million. The county’s also floating the idea of indefinitely postponing about $300 million worth of capital improvement projects and won’t consider any bonds during the next fiscal year.
The budget proposal also includes $426 million to begin construction on a water treatment plant, which would be located in the Appomattox Tidal Basin. It would become the county’s fourth water source after its scheduled completion in 2033.
County Administrator Joe Casey has previously said the new facility would help ensure Chesterfield has redundancies in case of another regional water outage.
Around 40% of the proposed spending plan — about $1 billion — is for the public school system. The current proposal raises the school’s funding by about $43 million over last year, which is expected to cover 3% pay increases for all employees. Another $13 million will go toward supporting special education.
The plan would also mean county residents will get a 1-cent reduction on real estate taxes: The tax rate for FY26 would go from 95 cents to 89 cents per $100 of assessed value.
The board's expected to vote on the proposal during its April 9 meeting.
