January 24, 2025: Property assessments up in Charlottesville an average of 7.74 percent
Plus: Albemarle School Board appoints Leslie Pryor to serve as interim Rio District representatives
January 24 is the 207th day of the year. The fiscal year, that is, as measured by the Commonwealth of Virginia. We are also three and half weeks into the New Year as measured in this country and many others. The International Organization for Standardization would refer to today as Day 5 of week 4 of 2025. In China, this is Cycle 78, year 41 (Jia-Chen), month 12 (Ding-Chou), day 25 (Gui-Si). Charlottesville Community Engagement recognizes all of these potential ways of naming today. I’m Sean Tubbs and my favorite is the Discordian calendar which calls these 24 hours Prickle-Prickle, Chaos 24, Year of Our Lady of Discord 3191.
In today’s installment:
The vast majority of property owners in Charlottesville will see increases assessments this year
Andy Herrick is named as Albemarle County Attorney
A top official at the University of Virginia is leaving for a position in Vermont
The Albemarle School Board appoints Leslie Pryor to serve as interim Rio District representative
First-shout: Friends of Downtown Charlottesville celebrate Restaurant Week!
Calling all Charlottesville Foodies...Charlottesville restaurant week is here from January 27th to February 2nd. Enjoy special pre-fixe menus at one of the THIRTEEN Downtown restaurants: Bang!, The Bebedero, Bizou, Botanical Fare, Café Frank, Common House, The Conservatory, Lazeez, Maru, The Melting Pot, Orzo, Tonic, & The Whiskey Jar. Part of the proceeds go to support the Blue Ridge Food Bank!
For a full list of participating restaurants, click here. Bon appétit!
Charlottesville property assessments up average of 7.74 percent in 2025
The development of Charlottesville’s fiscal year budget for the year beginning on July 1 got a little more clear today with the announcement of the property assessments for the year.
“When residential, commercial, and new construction are averaged together taxable properties in the City increased by 7.74 percent in 2025,” reads an information release sent out this morning.
Residential property was up an average of 8.81 percent with nearly 95 percent increasing in value
Commercial property was up 6.37 percent with nearly 82 percent increasing in value
Mixed-used property was up 7.36 percent
Assessment notices will be mailed out on January 29.
“The 2025 reassessment appeal period will begin when reassessment notices are mailed on January 29, 2025,” reads the city assessor’s website. “The Board of Equalization (BOE) will meet May 13-15, 2025 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m in City Hall Council Chambers at 605 E. Main St.
The city’s Geographical Information System had not been updated with the new figures at publication time.
The land book for 2025 will not be finalized until later in the spring, but the increased assessment will likely bring in additional funding for a city that has seen both property values and real property tax revenue skyrocket since the pandemic.
In 2019, the total value of taxable land and buildings in Charlottesville was close to $7.65 billion and yielded $72,654,984 in property tax revenue based on a tax rate of $0.95 per $100 of assessed value.
In 2024 the total value increased to just over $10.9 billion and brought in over $106.8 million in potential property tax revenue based on a tax rate of $0.98 per $100 of assessed value.
Council voted for a penny increase in the real property tax rate in 2022 as part of the budget process for FY2023. A two cent increase was approved last year as part of the FY2025 budget. That action yielded an additional $2.18 million for the city.
Council also raised the meals tax, the lodging tax, and the personal property tax in 2025.
When an elected body votes to increase a rate, it applies for the entire calendar year. That is one explanation for the $22.4 million surplus for FY2024. I’ll have more on those details in the next edition of the newsletter.
Herrick appointed as Albemarle County Attorney
The Albemarle Board of Supervisors has selected a long-time county employee to serve as the top legal official for the jurisdiction. Andrew Herrick has been serving in the position on an interim basis following the retirement of Steven Rosenberg last year.
“Both Albemarle county and I have personally been blessed with a long line of outstanding county attorneys, among them, Larry Davis, Greg Kamptner, Cynthia Hudson and Steve Rosenberg,” Rosenberg said shortly after being named to the post. “And I now stand on the shoulders of these giants and look forward to building on their legacy.”
Prior to working for Albemarle, Herrick was the assistant county attorney for James City County. He graduated from the College of William & Mary with an undergraduate degree, a law degree, and as a Master of Business Administration.
Supervisor Ann Mallek of the White Hall District said she appreciated having someone who has been working for Albemarle be in the top position.
“It's been a privilege to watch over many years you who have been with us so long and have all this institutional knowledge to continue to take on new roles,” Mallek said. “I'm very grateful that you're willing to continue on with us and I'm very glad you are settled in this job.”
Herrick thanked the Board of Supervisors and also took time to thank members of the public.
“Our community is a great team,” Herrick said. “Though not always in agreement on every issue. Our community is very engaged and that's a good thing. That engagement only enhances the quality of our services and of our community itself.”
Herrick also took the opportunity to point out there are several pending vacancies in the office of the county attorney and he looks forward to hiring more talent. To learn more about the role Herrick and his team play, visit the county’s website.
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Baucom leaving as University of Virginia’s provost
A top official at the University of Virginia is leaving to become president of Middlebury College in Vermont.
“There are a handful of defining colleges and universities across the globe,” said Ian Baucom in a press release. “Middlebury is one of them.”
Baucom will step down as UVA Provost in March and begin his new post on July 1. He came to UVA in 2014 to be the Dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Baucom was elevated to provost in UVA.
“As the chief academic officer, the provost is responsible for UVA’s teaching, scholarship, and research at the schools, library, art museums, numerous centers and institutes, and foreign study programs, as well as faculty recruitment and retention,” reads the relevant website on the UVA page.
“Ian has left an indelible mark on UVA, both from his time as dean and his years as provost,” said UVA President Jim Ryan in an article on UVA Today. “Our academic environment has been enriched by his wise and steady leadership and a long list of accomplishments, from improvements to curriculum and advising to investments in research, faculty hires and school leadership.”
Unlike Middlebury College, the University of Virginia is a public whose governing body is appointed by Virginia’s governor. The UVA Board of Visitors will next meet as a whole on March 6 and March 7, kbut the Finance Executive Compensation Subcommittee will meet in closed session on January 27.
The Audit, Compliance, and Risk Committee will meet on January 28, 2025 at Carruthers Hall. (committee page)
Albemarle School Board appoints Pryor to represent Rio District on interim basis
The Albemarle School Board has appointed an interim representative to fill the Rio District seat vacated by the death in December of Chuck Pace.
“It is my belief that professional and personal endeavors have afforded me experiences, skills, and knowledge that will be an asset to the School Board,” Pryor wrote in her application. “I welcome the opportunity to work to increase teacher pay and incentives [and] enhance facilities so that our children and personnel our safe and have the resources they need to thrive and be successful.”
Pryor is a native of Charlottesville who is currently working on a master’s degree in public safety. She’s employed as a program associate and alumni coordinator for the Sorensen Institute of Political Leadership at the University of Virginia.
Pryor will serve for the remainder of the year until a permanent replacement is selected in the November 4 general election.
“This was not an easy decision,” said School Board Chair Kate Acuff. “We had seven community members with impressive background and knowledge and experience and perspectives willing to tackle what I consider to be one of the most important pieces of work a local government does.”
The School Board conducted interviews with the seven candidates on January 16.
Six people spoke during a public hearing before the Albemarle School Board on January 23 with all but one asking the elected body to appoint a different candidate.
Michael Powers asked the School Board to appoint the man who lost to Pace in the November 2024 election.
“Today you have the opportunity to uphold democracy again by appointing Jim Dillenbeck who just like each of you earned about 4,000 votes, 4,069 to be exact, just three months ago from Albemarle County voters who wanted him to represent them,” Powers said.
Andrew Cox also urged the Board to appoint Dillenbeck because he said that candidate would push for the use of data to close disparities.
“One of the things I will not about Mr. Dillenbeck is that he did receive a very large number of votes,” Cox said.
Beth McDowell also recommended Dillenbeck because she said he was the only one of the seven candidates to have taught in Albemarle County Schools.
“A lot of people in the Rio District would like him to be on this board,” McDowell said.
The fourth and fifth speaker also supported Dillenbeck.
The final speaker, Victoria Lee, supported Pryor.
“We worked together at the Family Treatment Court where we worked closely with Region 10 and [Court Appointed Special Advocates] (CASA) to help families recover from addictions and reunite children with their parents,” Lee said.
Pryor will serve in the position until a special election is held on November 4 as part of the overall generation election.
Acuff said Pryor was chosen to augment the collective skill sets held by the School Board. The vote was unanimous.
Reading material for #799
Video: New indoor ice park steps closer to reality with Greene PC recommendation, Chuck Jackson, Greene Journal, January 16, 2025
What’s all the buzz about Louisa County’s first civics bee?, Kate Neuchterlein, 29News WVIR, January 22, 2025
Charlottesville signals its integration with Econolite, Adam Hill, ITS International, January 23, 2025
Breakfast links: Arlington County Board will consider the future of ranked-choice voting, Judith Bernholc, Greater Greater Washington, January 23, 2025
Fluvanna schools caught in national PowerSchool data breach, Heather Michon, Fluvanna Review, January 23, 2025
Where the #799 ends
Today I have written this newsletter as well as produced a radio version for WTJU that will air tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. There’s that whole adage that “it’s a marathon not a sprint” and this is how I seem to run.
At one point I was able to run a six minute mile because I was in shape. I can’t do that now because I’ve not conditioned myself. But I have reached a point where this is the work I do and I want to get as much of it out as I can.
As soon as I finish this work, I’ll get to work on next week’s C-Ville Weekly story. I’ll think about the podcast and the potential of a Saturday edition of the newsletter, though I’ll likely push that to Monday.
Every day I wake up and I want to know things. I want to tell people things. I do this work because this is how I understand being human and being alive. I am aware I am not the only person on the planet, and that there is a sense of interconnection. I view this work as a way to hopefully help people, even though at the heart of it, the satisfaction of completing the work is what keeps me sane.
Thank you to the hundreds of people helping to support the work. One day I’ll get that media kit done. I do this work based on the faith that people will support it through payment. That’s worked to date, and I appreciate it.
Today’s video-in-lieu of sponsor is a concert I watched last night from 1996 while getting work done.