City manager presents proposed $73.2 million budget to Staunton City Council

Staunton City Council now has its hands on the proposed 2025 fiscal-year city government budget.

City Manager Leslie Beauregard presented the proposed budget at a City Council work session on Thursday.

The general-fund budget was proposed at $73.2 million, a $3.4 million increase over the current-year budget.

“Budget development is shaped by a number of factors, including alignment with City Council’s vision, values and strategic priorities, the city’s financial policies, and principles of budgeting,” Beauregard said. “Ultimately, difficult decisions are made to balance the budget, but we believe this puts the city in a positive position to address significant future needs and put us in a position of resilience and financial stability.”

Additional information on the budget can be found by visiting the city’s website at www.ci.staunton.va.us/budget.

Highlights

• The real estate tax rate remains at $.89 per $100 of assessed value.
• The proposed budget fully funds Staunton City Schools. There is $1.29 million in additional funding for the school system, an 8 percent increase from FY 2024, honoring the funding formula approved in 2022.
• The proposed budget continues to set aside three reserve funds established in the FY 2024 budget, each equivalent to one cent on the 2023 real estate tax rate, for three City Council priorities: Uniontown Neighborhood Action Plan, West End revitalization, and the Staunton Library’s building and space needs.

Schedule

There will be multiple work sessions and public hearings throughout the budget process giving community members many opportunities to provide comment.

Thursday, April 4
5:00 p.m. budget work session

Thursday, April 11
5:00 p.m. budget work session (includes joint work session with City Schools)
7:00 p.m. public hearing on all budget ordinances

Thursday, April 18 (tentative)
7:30 p.m. budget work session (Following Planning Commission Meeting)

Thursday, April 25
5:00 p.m. budget work session
7:00 p.m. consideration of the City Council FY 2025 adopted budget and FY 2025-2029 capital improvement plan

Input

• Contact the entire City Council with a single email sent to [email protected]
• Leave comments with the Clerk of Council at 540.332.3810
• Attend meetings in person
• Connect via Zoom, or listen to, the meetings online at ci.staunton.va.us/council