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Record of Proceedings

Blacksburg Town Council Meeting – March 12, 2024: Budget Introduction and Public Comments on Ceasefire Resolution

Town Council — Tuesday, March 12, 2024
BodyBlacksburg, Virginia
SessionTown Council
DateTuesday, March 12, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:13:05

Transcript — Verbatim
1:08

Will the council please come to order and will the clerk please call the roll?

1:12

Anderson, present.

1:14

Oliver, here, board?

1:16

Here.

1:16

Dave Smith.

1:17

Here.

1:18

Addingly?

1:19

Here.

1:20

Here.

1:20

Watson.

1:21

Present.

1:22

We will begin with the Pledge of Allegiance.

1:25

Will the uh Vice Mayor please lead us in the pledge?

1:30

Pledge allegiance.

1:32

Of the United States of America.

1:34

And two the Republic for which it stands.

1:39

Under God.

1:40

Indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

1:48

We'll begin this evening with the consent agenda.

1:51

And the first item on that is the approval of town council minutes for February 20 and 27.

1:59

Second item is ordinance twenty forty-seven and ordinance of the town council of the town of Blacksburg, Virginia, authorizing the issuance of its general obligation, capital improvement and refunding and refunding bonds, series twenty twenty-four.

2:12

Our action there will be to introduce the ordinance and to schedule a public hearing for April 9.

2:20

Ordinance 2048, adopting the budget of the town of Blacksburg for the fiscal year, beginning July 1, 2024 and ending June 30, 2025, adopting the real estate tax rate and appropriating funds for the fiscal year.

2:36

Again, we will um schedule the public hearing for April 9.

2:42

Ordinance 2049, amending Blacksburg Town Code sections 18201, 18400, 24301, 24306, 24314, and 24602 to increase fees for water and sewer services and meter fees.

3:28

Second.

3:28

We have uh motion and a second.

3:30

Will the clerk please call the roll?

3:32

Oliver?

3:33

Aye.

3:34

Aye.

3:36

Addingly?

3:37

Aye.

3:38

Aye.

3:39

Watson.

3:40

I.

3:41

Aye.

3:42

We have no public hearings this evening.

3:45

Um, but we do have a regularly scheduled citizen comment section.

3:50

And so I invite anyone who would like to speak up to the uh podium here.

3:56

Um please state your name and your address.

4:00

And our clerk will be recording that.

4:03

So please state it clearly.

4:05

Um and a little flat bit there is a microphone.

4:10

Hello.

4:12

My name is Andy Stager.

4:14

I live at six three five five Court's Lane.

4:17

Um, and I want to speak here tonight in support of a ceasefire in Palestine and to call for a resolution of the town of Blacksburg.

4:24

Um that would be put out and supported by the town.

4:29

Um I have a call to action and a poem to read for you.

4:34

Um the poem.

4:37

Um, this is part of the anger and grief that I can't hold inside any longer about what's happening in Gaza.

4:43

So if you are sensitive to any strong imagery, um, I just wanted to make that statement first.

4:50

Um the poem is called In Our Global Theater.

4:54

Broken Bodies lazing in a broken theater.

4:57

Under the stage, an orchestra warms up for the national anthem.

5:01

Broken strings scrape a broken tune.

5:04

Tipped indented horns sing off key.

5:07

Leaning back, the owner of broken hands glares through a scratched and jagged window above the scene, pushes shattered glass buttons and turns twisted knobs and stares silently into the audience.

5:19

Silently into the audience.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
International Relations████████████████████████████████████████████44%
Public Engagement█████████████████████████████████████37%
Budget Equity Analysis███████7%
Procedural██████6%
Education███3%
Public Health███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Blacksburg Town Council Meeting – March 12, 2024

The Blacksburg Town Council held its regular meeting on March 12, 2024 (11:30 UTC) at the Roger E. Hedgepeth Chambers. The meeting included approval of the consent agenda, extensive public comments primarily calling for a ceasefire resolution related to the Free Palestine movement, and the introduction of the Fiscal Year 2024/2025 Recommended Operating Budget. The meeting adjourned at 7:42 p.m. local time.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved minutes from February 20 and February 27, 2024.
  • Introduced Ordinance 2047 (General Obligation Capital Improvement and Refunding Bonds, Series 2024), Ordinance 2048 (FY2025 budget and tax rate), Ordinance 2049 (water/sewer fee increases), and Ordinance 2050 (amending FY2023/2024 budget to appropriate $2,500,000 of bond proceeds). All were scheduled for a public hearing on April 9, 2024.
  • The consent agenda passed unanimously on a roll call vote (all seven council members voted yes).

Public Comments & Testimony

Numerous citizens addressed the council, most urging approval of a ceasefire resolution regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict. Key speakers and their positions:

  • Andy Stenger (6355 Quartz Lane) read a poem and called for a ceasefire resolution.
  • Lina Mayhew (884 Patrick Henry Drive) expressed feeling unrepresented and demanded a ceasefire.
  • William Kirshbom (1207 Gladewood Drive) spoke twice: first about capital budget allocation for education and concerns over water/sewer fee increases; later he reminded council to consider both perspectives, noting Israeli lives matter and that Hamas attacked.
  • Zachary Weis (1003 South Main Street) spoke in favor of a ceasefire.
  • Megan Peterson (Christiansburg) linked the Radford Army Ammunition Plant to the conflict and asked for a ceasefire.
  • Gwyneth Palmer (252 Brice Street) compared children in Gaza to local children, asking for a ceasefire.
  • Vishal (no last name, 2703 Tall Oaks Drive) and other high school students (Allie Eastwood, Prairie) also spoke.
  • Lia Soubi (Virginia Tech student, from Middle East) asked for a ceasefire, citing belief in American ideals.
  • Helena Huber (William and Mary student) asked for a ceasefire, recounting a friend from Cambodia.
  • Georgia Doremus (387 Charles Street) mentioned babies killed in Gaza and asked council to take moral stand.
  • Gabrielle Spennacchio-Parker (2428 Ridge Road) linked Radford Arsenal pollution to the conflict.
  • Jamie McKinley (1604 Bold Spring Road) addressed the opioid epidemic, requesting the town partner with agencies to provide naloxone and safe disposal containers.
  • Almad Alhero (1906 Shadow Lake Road) criticized Radford Arsenal and asked for a ceasefire.
  • Ray Hartley (1482 Clay Street) disputed William Kirshbom's earlier remarks and supported a ceasefire.
  • Many others (Tylah Graves, Ray Johnson-Nicholson, Gillian Penske, Megan Christle, Charlotte, Andrew Walker, Lydia Hassan) all requested a ceasefire resolution.

Discussion Items

Introduction of FY2024/2025 Recommended Operating Budget Town Manager Marc Verniel presented the proposed $105 million total budget (12% increase including capital; 4% operating increase excluding one-time capital). The general fund (about half of total) is up ~7%, driven by inflation and staffing costs. Key features:

  • Property tax rate remains unchanged at $0.26 per $100 of assessed value.
  • Utility fees: average bill increase ~2% due to modest water/sewer rate hikes; no changes to solid waste or stormwater fees.
  • Seven new positions: two police officers, a business relations manager, a parks and natural lands coordinator, a recreation program associate, a public works technician (vegetation management), and a maintenance specialist (daily street sweeping).
  • Staff salary increases: 3% cost-of-living adjustment effective July 1, 2024, plus up to 2% step increases based on performance in January 2025.
  • Health insurance premiums remain flat for a second consecutive year.
  • ARPA-funded projects ($13 million) must be obligated by end of 2024 and completed by end of 2026; top priority for the year.
  • Budget schedule: work sessions through March and April, public hearing on April 9, 2024, and adoption expected at April 23, 2024 meeting.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent agenda (including all four ordinances) approved unanimously.
  • No public hearings were held.
  • Citizen comments were heard; no council action taken on ceasefire resolution requests (the item was not on the agenda).
  • The FY2024/2025 budget was formally introduced; a public hearing is set for April 9, 2024, with adoption scheduled for April 23, 2024.
  • Councilmember Susan Anderson announced Women's Month at Virginia Tech events.

Meeting Transcript

Will the council please come to order and will the clerk please call the roll? Anderson, present. Oliver, here, board? Here. Dave Smith. Here. Addingly? Here. Here. Watson. Present. We will begin with the Pledge of Allegiance. Will the uh Vice Mayor please lead us in the pledge? Pledge allegiance. Of the United States of America. And two the Republic for which it stands. Under God. Indivisible with liberty and justice for all. We'll begin this evening with the consent agenda. And the first item on that is the approval of town council minutes for February 20 and 27. Second item is ordinance twenty forty-seven and ordinance of the town council of the town of Blacksburg, Virginia, authorizing the issuance of its general obligation, capital improvement and refunding and refunding bonds, series twenty twenty-four. Our action there will be to introduce the ordinance and to schedule a public hearing for April 9. Ordinance 2048, adopting the budget of the town of Blacksburg for the fiscal year, beginning July 1, 2024 and ending June 30, 2025, adopting the real estate tax rate and appropriating funds for the fiscal year. Again, we will um schedule the public hearing for April 9. Ordinance 2049, amending Blacksburg Town Code sections 18201, 18400, 24301, 24306, 24314, and 24602 to increase fees for water and sewer services and meter fees. Second. We have uh motion and a second. Will the clerk please call the roll? Oliver? Aye. Aye. Addingly? Aye. Aye. Watson. I. Aye. We have no public hearings this evening. Um, but we do have a regularly scheduled citizen comment section. And so I invite anyone who would like to speak up to the uh podium here. Um please state your name and your address. And our clerk will be recording that. So please state it clearly. Um and a little flat bit there is a microphone. Hello. My name is Andy Stager. I live at six three five five Court's Lane. Um, and I want to speak here tonight in support of a ceasefire in Palestine and to call for a resolution of the town of Blacksburg. Um that would be put out and supported by the town. Um I have a call to action and a poem to read for you.

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