Charlottesville City Council (2018-2019)

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The 2018-2019 City Council is the current legislative body of the City of Charlottesville and operated as a single entity. The City Manager is appointed by Council and acts as Chief Executive Officer. The City Manager implements policies established by Council. The City of Charlottesville was chartered as a municipal corporation by the General Assembly of Virginia. The City has operated under the Council-Manager form of government since 1946.

City Council elections are held in off-years, every two years when neither a presidential election nor a midterm election takes place, which is the 1st Tuesday following the first Monday in November of odd-numbered years; terms are staggered for the five Council members elected at large to four-year terms; all elections are non-partisan. At the first regular meeting after the election, Councilmembers elect a Mayor and a Vice-mayor from among its members; these positions are elected to serve for two-year terms. The Mayor presides over meetings, calls special meetings, makes some appointments to advisory boards and serves as the ceremonial head of government. The Vice Mayor substitutes whenever the Mayor is unavailable. City Council appoints the City Manager, Finance Director, City Assessor, the City Attorney, the Clerk of Council and members of major policing making Boards and Commissions.

Regular council meetings are held monthly - 2nd and 4th Monday of each month at 6:00 p.m. Other special called meetings may be called at any time. A current annual (January to December) schedule of all Council meetings was established.

Appointed Officials

Among the council elected officers and clerks who have served at the pleasure of the 2018-2019 Council Council:

City Manager

City Attorney

City Council Clerk

City Finance Director

Policing making Boards and Commissions

Adopted Budgets

  • FY 2019 City Budget (July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019): As adopted by the City Council, the total General Fund Budget of $179,725,535 represents a 4.70% increase over FY 2018.[1]

Major Highlights of the FY 2019 Budget

  • $3.4 million was budgeted in the CIP for the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund, keeping the commitment to double the fund from FY 2017 levels, totaling $17.0 million in the 5-year plan.
  • $106,400 budgeted for the Residents on the Job Program, managed by the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority (CRHA). This program intended to support low-income residents in apprenticeships to rehabilitate 23 public housing units and train residents for jobs in the construction field.
  • City/County Revenue Sharing decreasing by $159,125.
  • City Council established a fee schedule for Emergency Medical Services vehicle transport services. FY 2019 is the first full year of this program, and it is expected to generate $1.4 million in revenue.
  • $500,000 is included in the Budget for the City Council Strategic Initiatives Fund for the African American Heritage Center at the Jefferson School.
  • $100,000 to cover the City Council Strategic Initiatives Fund will be used to fund a pilot Participatory Budgeting initiative.
  • $122,000 is budgeted for an Assistant City Attorney to provide support for the legal representation of City departments, commissions and elected officials.
  • At a cost of approximately $115,000, living wage in FY 2019 will increase to $14.40, the first year of a two-year plan to raise the living wage to $15.00 per hour.

see also Charlottesville Office of Budget and Performance Management

Events

  • Proposed changes to Charlottesville’s charter: Councilors voted, 3-2, in their December meeting to allow the city to operate outside of state guidelines for mayor and councilor pay — $18,000 a year for councilors and $20,000 a year for mayor - and determine their own pay. The proposed change to the charter also includes "several minor" revisions to reflect changes in government that have occurred, such as moving municipal elections from May to November.[2]
Introduced by: Nikuyah Walker
For: Nikuyah Walker, Wes Bellamy, Kathy Galvin, Heather Hill
Against: Mike Signer
On January 3, 2019, Del. David J. Toscano, (D-Charlottesville), said that he would not introduce the changes in the upcoming General Assembly session to start on January 9, 2019. “Introducing a charter that would allow the City Council to raise their salaries to an untapped amount is a non-starter in the General Assembly,” Toscano said.[3]

City Charter

Charlottesville is an independent city (Virginia cities have no county affiliation), which derives its governing authority from a charter granted by the Virginia General Assembly. Changes in the structure and powers of the City government are made by amending the Charter. This requires action by the General Assembly, usually introduced by the city’s representatives at the General Assembly session upon the request of the City Council, following public hearings. The current City Charter was granted in 1946; it was amended in 1950, 1958, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1978, 1989, 1990, 2006, and 2010.

History of Council-Manager form of government

  • In the 1922 election, a slim majority of the voters changed the local government from a Council-Mayor form of government by approving adoption of the council-manager form of city government. This form of government centralizes legislative authority and responsibility in the elected City Council. Administrative authority and responsibility are held by the City Manager, who is appointed by the City Council. The 1922-1924 City Council, under this new form of government, took office on September 1, 1922 and appointed B. A. Bennett, from Hill City, as City Manager.
  • By referendum in the Election held December 17, 1920, a slim majority adopted the form of Government provided by the Code of Virginia known as the “Modified Commission Form”.

In the 1916 election, the Commission Plan was defeated by a margin of 257 to 178. Voters of Charlottesville chose not to adopt the new idea of municipal government known as the Commission-Manager form fast being adopted throughout the different states.


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