By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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black and silver calculator beside black pen — Photo by Recha Oktaviani on Unsplash

Fredericksburg City Council agreed at a work session on Tuesday to advertise a 5-cent increase to the real estate tax rate for the upcoming fiscal year.

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Council must advertise a tax rate in advance of a public hearing on the budget, which is scheduled for April 21. The final tax rate for fiscal year 2027 (July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027) cannot exceed the advertised tax rate without triggering a new public notice and hearing process.

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City Manager Tim Baroody’s budget recommends a 4-cent increase to the real tax rate, bringing it to $0.84 per $100 in assessed value. Council members at a work session on Tuesday decided to advertise a rate one-cent higher than that to allow for “flexibility.”

“I think there are a lot of unknowns still, which is why I would suggest advertising a little higher than the 4 cents,” said Mayor Kerry Devine. “We don’t have a state budget yet. And we haven’t heard from the public yet. Are there some [needs] we haven’t considered yet?”

“My goal is to meet the needs of the city as efficiently as possible,” she continued.

At Large representative Will Mackintosh noted that this would be the second year in a row that Council has raised the real estate tax rate by at least 4 cents.

“My goal absolutely is to hit 4 cents,” he said. “Four pennies two years in a row is a big ask.”

Mackintosh said he would be comfortable advertising a 4-cent increase in order to “articulate that commitment” not to go higher, but that he would also be happy to go along with a consensus to advertise higher.

Vice Chair and Ward 4 representative Charlie Frye and Ward 1 representative Matt Rowe indicated that they would support advertising a 6-cent increase, but there was majority support for the 5-cent advertised rate.

Frye so far is the only Council member to propose adding an expenditure to Baroody’s recommended budget—the installation of security cameras at all the city’s parks and playgrounds. Tuesday’s presentation from staff did not include an estimated cost for this request.

The presentation included a comparison of surrounding jurisdictions’ current and proposed real estate tax rates.

Stafford County has advertised a 6-cent increase to its current real estate tax rate of $0.91 cents per $100, and Spotsylvania has advertised a 4-cent increase to its rate of $0.73 per $100.

The city’s proposed budget for next fiscal year includes investment in its workforce, which Council also discussed at Tuesday’s work session.

Baroody’s budget proposes implementing “job family adjustments” for the highest turnover positions. This plan increases starting salaries and establishes career development programs for the city’s equipment operators, crew members, custodians, automotive mechanics, wastewater treatment plant operators, traffic maintenance workers, transit operators, and transit mechanics.

The proposed budget also implements a pay plan for public safety employees—fire and rescue, police, and the Sheriff’s Office. Council committed by resolution to establish such a pay plan by fiscal year 2029 to help with recruitment and retention of these positions.

City employees who are not part of the public safety pay plan or affected by a job family adjustment receive a 4% pay increase in the proposed budget.

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