Fredericksburg aims to slash $8 million from budget

On May 26, the Fredericksburg City Council held a public hearing to discuss proposed revisions to their budget for the fiscal year 2021. 

The revised budget total is down 7.5% from the March 10 recommended budget, coming in at $95.7 million. This is also a 5.9% decrease compared to the 2020 fiscal year. 

Assuming a June re-opening, the new budget proposals estimate $90.1 million in revenue. The extra $5.6 million would come from the fund balance. 

The city has lost revenue from the decline in consumerism affecting how much is raked in with the sales tax, meals tax, and hotel lodging tax. 

From March 10, revenue from the sales tax has been down 15%, the meals tax fund is down 25%, and the lodging tax is down 20%.

From the fiscal year 2020 to the fiscal year 2021, there’s a projected 7% drop in the sales tax, 24% drop in the meals tax, 22% drop in the lodging tax, and 11% drop in the telecommunication sales tax funds.

With a slimmed-down budget comes several cuts from the original March 10 budget. 

The recommendation of a 4% October salary increase for city employees has been scrapped, as have nine new positions. 

The first read of the budget will take place on June 9, and a second reading will occur on June 23.