4-cent real estate tax rebate proposed for Richmond amid debate over rate cuts – Richmond BizSense

Amidst the hottest debate ever over whether to cut Richmond’s real estate tax, the City Council is mulling proposals that now include a 4-cent tax rebate for all property owners and more tax breaks for low-income and senior citizens. .

In a press conference on Monday, Mayor Levar Stoney and Council President Kristen Nye announced the proposed restoration and two new relief programs recommended by city officials in response to Councilmember Reva Trammell’s call to lower the rate, which stands at $120 per $100.

A few weeks ago, in a committee meeting that sometimes turned testy, Trammell proposed a 4-cent reduction to the rate, which he saw remained unchanged since 2009. Trammell says that the rate reduction is needed to help get rid of commercial buildings that have had it. was high at the time and exceeded the ability of most residents to pay rent and mortgages.

Councilors Ellen Robertson and Ann-Frances Lambert then added their names to Trammell’s request, which Nye had opposed with a request to maintain the existing tax due to tax refunds and exemptions. He and the administration maintain that the across-the-board reduction would benefit the city’s property owners the most, rather than those most in need of help.

These resolutions continued at this month’s council meeting of the Finance and Economic Development Standing Committee, which is expected to continue on Thursday.

But on Monday, Nye and Stoney announced the recovery proposal and other relief plans, which were explained to council members in a separate committee meeting later in the day.

The one-time 4-cent rebate would effectively return $16 million in remaining property taxes from the previous fiscal year to taxpayers who paid them. Refund checks would be mailed to property owners in February.

The proposed assistance programs, collectively known as RVA Housing, include a gap testing program in which low-income residents who spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs can receive up to $200 per month for six months in assistance. The grants would be available to both homeowners and renters.

Also proposed is the Richmond Freeze Program, in which homeowners who are 65 years of age or older or permanently disabled will be exempt from property sales taxes. Their current tax bill would be frozen based on their home inspection last year.

In announcing the petitions, Nye credited Trammell, who attended the press conference, with applying the pressure that got them released.

“I want to say ‘thank you’ to Councilwoman Trammell for bringing in the $1.16 bill, because if she hadn’t done that, I don’t think we’d be having this discussion and looking at all these options,” Nye said. Other council members offered a similar gesture to Trammell at Monday’s committee meeting.

However, following the announcement, Trammell argued that tax cuts, not refunds, are what residents should be priced out of the city. He said that he will continue to advocate for the reduction of prices, and he did this in the meeting.

Noting that the last rate cut in 2009 dropped the rate by 3 cents, Trammell said in Monday’s meeting, “I’m only asking for 4.”

The rate debate has been on the rise in recent years, fueled by reassessments available this time of year but also government legislation that triggers a “roll back” rate to address annual assessment increases of 1 percent or more. If the council wants to keep the old city tax, it must approve an increase from the retroactive rate, hence Nye’s and Trammell’s proposals.

The city is also currently working to adjust its audit calendar to take place in the spring, when the council is preparing the annual budget. Doing this, leaders and members of the council say, will facilitate the discussion of taxes so that any amendments can be made in the budget.

Mayor Stoney said changing the tax now would not only cut a $3.2 million hole in the current budget, but would also involve removing $200 million from the city’s multi-year redevelopment plan and disrupting the cooperative agreements the council concluded with the firefighters. , police and other city employees.

While he disagreed with lowering the rate, Stoney said at a press conference Monday, “I think debating these financial questions is a good conversation to have at this time, especially when we know that many of our citizens are struggling with inflation.”

Monday’s announcement cited numbers from the 2023 American Community Survey, which said more than a quarter of Richmond renters, or about 43,000, are spending more than half of their income on housing. Almost twice as many are spending 30 percent or more of their income on rent, while the average home assessment in 2023 was $340,000, according to the survey.

The council has waived taxes in the past. Two years ago, it approved a 5-cent rebate as an alternative to previously proposed reductions in the tax rate. The refund totaled $18 million starting in fiscal year 2022.