Richmond 1st District City Council Race - 2024

Assessments are way way up, so our taxes are way way up. And I hear it all the time, and I personally feel it all the time as well. When assessments are up as much as they are, we have room to roll back the tax rate and still have a larger budget than we had here before. 

What I'm actually a fan of doing is using a rebate for the full amount so we can get that tax relief while still protecting the city from future downturns.

That also gives council and the mayor time to investigate all these other options - for example, the land-use tax and other great options - in a responsible way. And if we're not going to give any tax relief, then we absolutely need to make sure that all of the extra money is going directly to those investments of technology, training and transparency that we know will get a return on investment. Things that actually create better results and result in cost savings and give us even more room to reduce tax in the future.

First of all, state law expects you to take it back to the rollback rate. You’re not supposed to build in a $40 million surplus, and that’s what they’re doing. I’ve helped Gov. Wilder and a couple other governors look at the budget, so I kind of know when they’re trying to hide stuff. I’ve done it myself. So that’s the first thing.

How about cutting expenses? Has anybody ever heard the mayor ever say, 'You’ve gotta cut expenses'? He's paying his friend and college buddy $350,000 to run the city, plus benefits. He's not qualified. (Editor's note: Lincoln Saunders made $334,700 last year.)

The Mayor's Office has grown. You know, the lawyers cost $2 million more than they did three years ago. I went to court against them. Trust me, they're not worth another $2 million. How about the finance department? It's got $8 million more, according to the budget, than the cost three years ago.

My plan would be to put some legislation in place that would make it reflect a regional rate. We don't necessarily have to be the lowest, but we need to be able to compete. It should not be advantageous for your family to move across mythical lines. Richmond City, geographically, is very small, and I am concerned that young families and people that are struggling will move out of our city because of the tax burden - and that's what will motivate me. 

I want it to be a regional rate. If we fail in Richmond, Chesterfield fails and Henrico fails. And likewise, we need to start thinking of ourselves as a universal community. (Highways) 295 and 288, that is Richmond. And we need to make sure all rates are the same. By doing that, we will be able to keep people here, and Richmond will be able to improve.