Waynesboro City Council members compromised on an 82-cent tax rate with the additional revenue keeping the city on “a forward trajectory,” according to the mayor.
The current rate is 77 cents, so the increase equals 5 cents per $100 of assessed value in the city. The 82-cent rate has been introduced, but the final vote will come at its March 27 meeting.
The three-member majority of City Council had discussed increasing the rate to 89 cents, but Republican Council members Jim Wood and Jeremy Sloat pushed for a lower 81-cent rate.
Ultimately, the city budget included most of what Council members wanted through the compromise of 82 cents. City Council voted 4-1 to introduce the 82-cent rate, with freshman Councilor Lorie Jean Akanbi, who serves as the city’s vice mayor, voting against the compromise.
Finding common ground
Waynesboro Mayor Kenny Lee said the budget process “got off to a little rocky start,” but he was pleased that City Council members were willing to have discussions and found room to compromise and find common ground. He said that it sends the message to the community that City Council is on the same page.
“Nobody wants to raise taxes and cause folks to have any hardship,” said Lee. “I think that it was apparent to my colleagues that there had to be some increase to address the needs of our city and to keep us in a forward trajectory. We think that this slight increase did that for us.”
The median home value in the city is approximately $270,000, resulting in an increase of $135 per household on an annual basis, or $11.25 per month. Waynesboro’s population includes nearly 20 percent living below the poverty level and is nearly double the state average. The median household income in the city is just $43,605.
Lee said that citizens also encouraged the city to find alternative revenues to keep the rate down. In the end, the city decided to look at increasing its meals tax from 7 percent to 7.5 percent.
Council also pushed back the compensation adjustments for employees by one quarter resulting in additional savings.
Public safety, employee compensation addressed in budget
The new tax rate will fund additional public safety positions: six for the fire department, one sworn police officer and one civilian officer and two sheriff deputies.
“I think we all understood that in the area of public safety, everybody agreed that we needed to address those numbers, and so it was just, how do we get there? I don’t think anybody wanted to walk away and not address staffing levels at the police department, fire department and sheriff’s office, so it was just finding ways to get there.”
The new tax rate will also improve the compensation for new and existing city employees. The city recently calculated the living wage in Waynesboro to be nearly $20 an hour. While the hourly compensation remains below what is offered in some neighboring localities, Lee thinks it’s a step in the right direction.
“Addressing compensation for our city works has been a priority for us,” Lee said. “Getting that briefing a few months back on the living wage and where we are, it was an eye opener, and we want to address that. We need to address that, and I think we’re taking the right steps in doing so.
“It’s not going to be an overnight thing, but we appreciate what our city workers do for us, day in and day out, in all types of weather, and we want them to be able to enjoy the finer things in life as best we can.”
Community vitality fund added to city’s budget
Council member Terry Short also had a win after proposing a community vitality fund that was included in the approved budget. The fund will start with $300,000, pulled from the city’s general fund, and will support non-profit organizations serving Waynesboro residents.
Lee said Council members haven’t had any discussions yet about what those funds will specifically address and said they would need to set some ground rules for how it will work.
“I’m eager to sit down with my colleagues and say, how are we going to do this? We know there are going to be a massive number of requests coming through, but we want to do this in a way that’s going to help a majority of our citizens. It’s going to be a fun process, but it’s also going to be a large task because you’re going to have to say “no” to some requests, and that’s always difficult to do.”
Federal cuts and potential impacts on the city
With so much uncertainty about funding cuts at the national level and potential reductions to Medicaid, not to mention the potential for a recession according to some industry experts, the city is in a wait-and-see mode to see how it will affect operations, Lee said.
“I think any time that you have fluctuating issues going on at the federal and state level, things trickle down, and we try to isolate, and we try to stay outside of that, and do what’s best for the city. I think that is our goal, that’s what we were elected to do.”
Lee fears the cuts could affect entities that provide vital resources to Waynesboro citizens, including Valley Community Services Board, the Department of Social Services and the Office on Youth. Once the city knows more, he is eager to see what the state will be able to do to fill the gaps.
“It’s concerning. We just don’t know what that impact is going to be, and it’s hard to prepare for that,” Lee said.
“In this particular situation, it’s more of a reactive approach, because we don’t know what those cuts are going to be and what that affect is going to have on our citizens.”
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Crystal Graham
