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To request that the Mayor propose an annual budget for Fiscal Year 2026-2027 that recommends a real estate tax levy of $1.16 per $100 of assessed value as a means of tax relief for residents who pay real estate taxes and as affirmation of the City's commitment to live within its fiscal means.
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WHEREAS, Article X, Section 2 of the Constitution of Virginia requires local governments to assess real estate at fair market value; and
WHEREAS, the City of Richmond has not changed its real estate tax levy since 2008, in contrast to its geographic peers; and
WHEREAS, Code of Virginia ? 58.1-3321 includes provisions for setting real estate tax levies such that local revenue growth from real estate taxes is limited to one percent year over year (the "rollback rate") unless the Council takes affirmative action to adopt a different rate, with the most recent "rollback rate" calculated for the city of Richmond being nearly six cents lower than the longstanding levy of $1.20 per $100 in assessed value; and
WHEREAS, total taxable real estate values within the city of Richmond recorded by the City Assessor have increased substantially, with growth in the total real estate tax base from approximately $22.7 billion in tax year 2018 to $41.2 billion in tax year 2025, an increase of 81 percent; and
WHEREAS, residential property values within the city of Richmond have increased even more substantially, with growth in the residential real estate tax base from approximately $12.6 billion in tax year 2018 to $23.5 billion in tax year 2025, an increase of 86.5 percent; and
WHEREAS, median household income in the city of Richmond has grown more modestly than home values, from $48,747 in 2018 to $64,903 in 2023, the most recent year for which United States Census Bureau data is available, an increase of 33 percent; and
WHEREAS, the Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports for the City of Richmond show that growth in real estate tax revenue ...
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