City to Fund Homeless Outreach Position with Community Services Board
Council also approves first read of real estate tax rate, some budget resolutions on Tuesday. Final approval will occur next month.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND
Email Writer
Fredericksburg City Council will fund a new position at the Rappahannock Community Services Board to liaise with and support the city’s unhoused population.
Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding with RACSB that governs the outreach case manager position and its duties. Council also approved a resolution appropriating $18,762 from the city’s contingency fund to support the position for May and June—the final two months of the current fiscal year—and allocating $112,574 from the unassigned general fund balance to support the position in fiscal year 2026.
According to the memorandum, the outreach case manager will “develop relationships and build rapport with unsheltered individuals to assist them with finding resources and housing” and will serve as a liaison between the unhoused population and downtown business owners.
The goals are for the person in this position to conduct outreach with 50 unsheltered individuals and get them entered into or updated in the homeless management information system—a system used by the local Continuum of Care as required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to collect and report data on homelessness and housing services.
The initial contract term for this position is May 2025 through June 2026, and City Manager Tim Baroody said it would be considered a pilot program.
“We think [this is] the right thing to do in light of increasing populations of homelessness here in the city and nationwide,” Baroody said. “We all think it’s better to have civilian engagement if difficulties arise,” as opposed to law enforcement.
According to a memorandum prepared by staff for Tuesday’s City Council meeting, the Fredericksburg Police Department has already fielded 320 calls this calendar year related to “homeless issues” or “homeless complaints.”
According to the Fredericksburg Regional Continuum of Care’s 2021 Unsheltered Homelessness Summary Report, it costs the taxpayer $68 to jail an unhoused individual for one night. The cost of one night in a psychiatric hospital is $718 and in a medical hospital is $1,471.
By contrast, one night in housing costs the taxpayer $20 and one night in shelter costs $30.
“There is definitely a potential for cost savings to the City and the community depending upon the case and the availability of services to assist individuals in need,” the memorandum states.
Fredericksburg Mayor Kerry Devine said there is a “critical need” for outreach to the city’s unhoused population.
“I appreciate the fact that we’re going to make this happen for us in the city, to provide support for downtown businesses and residents,” Devine said.
Councilor Jason Graham aluded to the fact that discussions with Stafford and Spotsylvania counties about funding a regional outreach position haven’t come to fruition.
“I’m proud of the work of staff and our partners to move the ball forward regardless” of whether or not there is regional buy-in, he said.
According to the staff memo, there will be a balance of $491,007 in the city’s contingency fund following appropriation of $18,762 for the first two months of the new position.
First read approval of tax rate
Also on Tuesday, Council unanimously approved a first read of a resolution setting the real estate tax rate for fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1, at $0.80 per $100 of assessed value—a 4-cent increase over the current rate, but less than the advertised 6-cent increase.
Two cents out of the real estate tax rate are dedicated to the stormwater management fund and the remainder goes to the general fund to support city operations and the transfer to the school system, finance director Amanda Six told Council.
The $0.80 real estate tax rate will bring in $45.7 million in revenue and about $1.2 million for the stormwater management fund.
Council also approved a first read of new water and sewer rates for next fiscal year, which would increase by 8% and 6%, respectively.
“The city continues to plan for major capital projects in our water and wastewater plants in fiscal year 2026 and beyond, so that is a major driver in the adjustments to the fees that we are proposing,” Six said.
Devine noted that the city is “working very, very hard” to ensure that taxpayers don’t have to carry the full cost of these capital projects, and Assistant City Manager Mark Whitley said the city has been awarded “close to $100 million” in state grants to support the projects.
Devine said she and Council members “feel the same pain as everyone else” from tax and rate increases, and Graham warned that the next year is going to be “uncertain” due to potential federal funding cuts and workforce reductions.
Final approval of the real estate tax rate, water and sewer rates, school division budget, and city budget will come next month.
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