VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Virginia Beach residents and visitors could see a tax increase according to the proposed 2018-19 City Budget.
Outlined on the Virginia Beach City website, the proposed budget lists the goals for growth in the city over the next year. It mentions economic growth, improving public safety, growing tourism, modernizing the area, improving education and fixing storm drainage.
News 3 took a look at last year’s numbers and found personal property tax, cigarette tax and vehicle registration are all increasing. The budget cites the property tax will not take effect until January 2019.
As the beach plans to attract more business and bring tourists to the area, the City Manager said they are also working to improve transportation, safety and education within the resort city.
Personal Property:
The city uses personal property tax to back the bonds used to build roads, schools and new buildings. With new plans on the horizon, much of the tax increase will be used to pay back the money borrowed for building up the city.
Education:
The budget addresses education within the Virginia Beach school system saying the proposed budget has 28 new instructional positions and 25 new staff positions; 12 of which are school counselors.
The 91% graduation rate and high passage rates on SOL tests provides evidence the education standard in Virginia Beach has been improving and is above the national average.
Public Safety:
Many higher-ranking officers take jobs elsewhere because of better pay. Increases for officers with experience has been implemented into the budget in hopes of keeping this public safety expertise in the city.
City Council is looking for your feedback and have set up a website to collect commentary. You can even anonymously add your age, income, value of your home and value of your car to get you an estimate of your total tax bill and where the money is spent.
