City Council Delays Action on Funding Request

By DAVID QUESENBERRY

Patriot Publishing

The Radford City Council at its Monday night meeting, delayed action on a request from the Radford City Public Schools for additional funding of $205,209.

School Superintendent Adam Joyce told Council that the recently approved state budget included more funding for a number of educational programs.

Additional state funding was made available for: special education; class size reduction; preschool initiative; compensation supplements for staff; and funds for at risk students.

To get these additional funds, localities must supply a matching fund contribution, which for Radford would amount to $205,209.

Mayor David Horton ventured if these funds were added to the amount already appropriated to the schools from the City it would result in a new higher level of basic annual appropriations for the schools. Joyce responded that was correct. The City’s current published budget shows for the current Fiscal Year 2026-2027, the City’s local match for the schools is $5,994,142, and when added with debt service and debt issue expenses results in a total amount of funding to the school system of $7,311,893. The proposed addition of the new local match would raise the City’s annual line item appropriation for the schools to just over $7.5 million.

 

Joyce proposed that $70,000 held by the City for a retirement program for non-Virginia Retirement System employees could be applied to the first year’s total resulting in a reduced local match of $135,209. Horton however, noted that for the budget years following, the City’s local match would include the full $205,209 amount.

Discussed in depth was the compensation supplements for staff with funding included by the state for a 4 percent increase for SOQ employees. The discussion included how all school employees could have the same pay increase and how would that be funded.

Vice-Mayor Seth Gillespie asked if the program categories mentioned were in this year’s City appropriation and how would they be used. Joyce responded that the program funds were in the budget and explained how the supplemental funding could be used to add to the existing programs.

Gillespie asked if the City did not fund the additional local match could the school system provide the additional matching funds needed. Joyce responded that it could not.

Councilwoman Jessi Foster in addressing the request noted it was a “hard sell” since the school system in earlier budget work felt that these issues were covered to their satisfaction, but now more funds were being requested. Joyce responded that the only reason they were making this request is to remain in a more competitive position with other districts, especially with regards to personnel recruitment and retention.

Foster then asked if the reserves had been looked at and would they be able to cover the additional match. Joyce responded they could not cover the additional funds, and that funds would have to be taken from other programs, which in turn would end up short funded.

Mayor Horton added that the proposal sought “new money” from the City for the school system.

Councilwoman Kellie Artrip asked if the school could not take funds from their reserves with the City. Joyce replied that, “We wanted to be careful with that.” Artrip responded, “We want to be careful with our money as well.” She felt the reserves were for a time such as this to keep from burdening the City and the schools.

“I think this reserve account may be an option to help both ends,” she said.

Vice-Mayor Gillespie asked City Manager Todd Meredith how picking up the extra match would affect the City’s finances and would it cancel out gains from the recent 2 cent real estate tax increase.

Meredith responded that the additional matching funds represented approximately a 2-cent tax on real estate, which would use up revenues from the real estate tax increase.

He said, “The General Fund cannot support $200,000. It can’t support $138,000. The City would have to transfer money from one of the Enterprise Funds, water, electric or solid waste, most likely water or electric into the general (fund) to fund this. I will advise Council just to keep in mind those transfers. We’re trying to get away from those and the funds we do transfer out of the Enterprise Funds, it’s reducing the amount we have available to tackle infrastructure needs.”

Councilman Guy Wohlford asked for a breakdown of the city’s local match for each program. Mayor Horton suggested revisiting the issue at the August meeting to consider possible options both for the current and future budgets. Joyce said he was not sure he could wait until August since he had to certify at the end of July that he was operating under a budget.

Councilwoman Foster said she was not comfortable taking funds from departments that had their own infrastructure needs. She noted that she was more in favor of returning the $70,000 to the school system with the balance of the local match coming from school systems reserves. Meredith added that regarding budget transfers, the City still had two APCO bills outstanding and might have to use monies from those other funds to “pay that bill down.”

In other comments on funding the extra match, Gillespie said, “It would be, in my opinion, fiscally irresponsible for us to do that with all the outstanding debt that we have and all the other things that we have to address. I just think in the here and now it wouldn’t be a wise decision for the City.”

Wohlford said, “I just don’t see how in the world we’re going to be able to meet that.” He described the situation as being “in such a bind right now that we cannot come up with anything like $200,000.” Councilwoman Foster said, “I just think right now it would be fiscally irresponsible for us to do anything other than what we’re currently committed to do.”

Artrip asked Meredith how much was in the reserves to which he said there was $1.9 million in the school’s capital reserve fund. Since these funds were dedicated, she asked Meredith if that would affect the City’s ability to pay bills. He responded that if the school system used monies from its capital reserve fund it would not affect the city. She responded use of the reserves for the match was what she was proposing. Meredith said that in his opinion there were no issues if the matching funds were taken from the capital reserve fund account.

After discussion, Council decided to discuss the issue again at its special meeting on July 22^nd to give the School Board time to review the issues and gather additional information.

The next scheduled meeting of the Radford City Council will be a special meeting at 6:00 pm on Wednesday, July 22, 2026 in the Council Chambers of the Radford City Hall at 10 Robertson Street.