Henrico plans 8.2% pay raise for county, school employees

Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas is proposing an 8.2% merit-based pay raise for Henrico County general government and school system employees – the largest comprehensive increase in more than three decades – as part of his proposed $1.15-billion Fiscal Year 2023-24 general fund budget.

Deputy County Manager for Administration Brandon Hinton announced the proposal Tuesday during a meeting with county employees at the county’s Public Utilities Operations Center on Woodman Road in Glen Allen.

“From day one in working on this budget, the county manager was very, very, very clear that the priority is you, the employee,” Hinton said, noting that about $60 million in the budget was being earmarked for the pay raises.

The move would amount to the largest across-the-board pay raises for county employees since 1991, Hinton said.

Overall, general fund spending would increase by about 8.6% (or $91.2 million) in the proposed budget from the current fiscal year plan.

If approved, the proposed raises, coupled with those provided during the past few fiscal years, mean that the average county employee will have received a 29.1% pay raise since April 2021, Hinton said.

Additionally, the proposed budget would set Henrico’s minimum hourly pay rate at $15, Hinton said, fulfilling a goal that Vithoulkas, Henrico Schools Superintendent Amy Cashwell and members of the board of supervisors and school board have had for several years.

Another focal point for county officials has been leading the region in entry-level pay among high-demand roles such as teachers, police officers, firefighters, equipment operators and mechanics. The proposed budget, Hinton said, also would achieve that goal.

“We will lead in entry level pay in all of those so we can continue to hire the best of the best,” he said.

Starting salaries would increase to $54,602 for teachers and $57,646 for police officers and firefighters, county officials said.

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Two weeks ago, Vithoulkas announced that the budget proposal would include, for the second consecutive year, a two-cent real estate tax credit. Tuesday, officials announced it also will include a 10-cent reduction in the county’s personal property tax for vehicles, from $3.50 to $3.40 per $100 of assessed value, which amounts to a savings of about $3.6 million for a total of 350,000 account holders, or about $102 each.

Officials said while vehicle values have fallen from last year’s peak, they remain higher than they were several years ago.

The county’s real estate tax rate would remain at 85 cents per $100 of assessed value, after the board of supervisors dropped it by 2 cents last year.

Vithoulkas’s proposal also would include $316.8 million in capital spending, including $114.3 million to initiate the first group of projects from the 2022 bond referendum, which was approved by voters in November.

That first phase of bond funding would cover replacement schools for Jackson Davis Elementary and Longan Elementary, construction of the new Environmental Living Center at Wilton Farm in Varina, planning for the replacement of Quioccasin Middle School, a new Firehouse 6, road improvements to support the development of Three Chopt Area Park and a first wave of projects to improve drainage and prevent flooding. Additional funding will promote environmental stewardship through land acquisition, stream rehabilitation and other drainage improvement projects.

The budget proposal also would provide an additional $500,000 in real estate tax relief through the Henrico Real Estate Advantage Program, which provides relief for seniors and disabled homeowners on fixed incomes. The maximum amount of relief per household would increase to $3,200, up from $3,000, and the total amount of relief provided through the program would increase to $11.5 million.

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In addition, the budget would provide:

• $817.8 million in education funding, including a $650.4 million general fund budget for HCPS, which would represent an increase of $47.7 million, or 7.9%, over the current budget. The funding would support continued implementation of the career ladders program, expansion of the An Achievable Dream Certified Academy to the eighth grade and the equivalent of 50 additional full-time positions;

• $30 million from the capital budget for road and pedestrian improvements, which are largely funded through the Central Virginia Transportation Authority;

• $15 million for the construction of a new Henrico Police South Station in Highland Springs;

• more than $100 million for water and sewer system improvements, including in the Westwood and Innsbrook areas;

• $1.3 million to build a Henrico visitor center at Four Mile Creek in Varina, along the Virginia Capital Trail;

• $2 million to establish the Home Purchase Assistance Program, which will help qualifying county and HCPS employees buy their first home in Henrico. The program will provide forgivable loans of $10,000 to $20,000 based on income and other requirements.

• increased funding in public safety for 10 additional police officers, 11 additional positions in the Henrico Division of Fire for the opening of Nine Mile Road Firehouse 23, two new peer recovery specialists in the Sheriff’s Office and a new director of the Substance Use Division of Henrico Area Mental Health & Developmental Services;

• new initiatives to promote economic and community development, with $2 million for neighborhood revitalization projects, $750,000 for the Henrico Investment Program and a position to oversee operations of the Henrico Sports & Events Center, which is scheduled to open this fall;

• a utility connection fee “holiday” to promote the construction of hotels and the redevelopment of old hotel sites. County credits would offset the fees typically charged;

• $4.3 million to help provide 95-gallon recycling carts to the 90,000 Henrico homes enrolled in the curbside recycling program of the Central Virginia Waste Management Authority.

Vithoulkas is scheduled to formally present the proposed budget to supervisors at their March 14 meeting. A public hearing will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 11 in the Board Room at the Henrico County Government Center, 4301 East Parham Road. Supervisors tentatively expect to adopt a budget April 25, and it would take effect July 1.