Budget outlook brighter for localities in Richmond area

Blue sky is beginning to peek through the storm clouds that have hung over school systems and local governments since budget preparations began last fall.

The passage of the state's $70 billion budget on Sunday means local government officials can begin to sort out with some certainty what next year's budgets will look like.

The city of Richmond and Henrico County are the only local governments in the area that have not introduced their budgets yet.

Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones will present his plan to the City Council on Monday. Marcus D. Jones, the city's deputy chief administrative officer for finance and administration, said yesterday that the budget approved by the General Assembly had added $4 million to $6 million to what city officials had projected as a $30 million shortfall for fiscal 2010-11.

He added that the final state budget wasn't as bad as some forecasts and that the mayor was prepared to present a budget that balances revenues and expenses.

"Come Monday at 3 o'clock that [forecasted] gap has to go away," Marcus Jones said.

Until Tuesday's presentation to the Board of Supervisors, Henrico officials aren't commenting on numbers, except to confirm once again that the 2011 budget will be less than the current 2010 budget.

"Real estate assessments are down 7 percent, and state aid to localities is going down. There's no way for us to go up," said Budget Director Eugene H. Walter. "The devil is in the details. They can say what they want at a high level, but the details are what's important to me."

Hanover County will adopt a final budget Wednesday. Officials there are scrambling to nail down the details, too, although, "I think we're breathing easier that these aren't big dollars one way or the other," said Finance Director Vivian McGettigan.

Hanover had based its original budget on then-Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's budget proposal, which included substantial reductions in state funding for constitutional officers. The county shifted other revenues to maintain those positions.

"The budget [adopted] on Sunday has not as drastic cuts in those categories," McGettigan said. "That is money coming back in. The biggest impact is schools. What we're seeing on the county side is money coming in, money going out. The net is positive, but we're not sure how much."

For school systems the cuts are deep, but most school officials are saying they won't have to make additional cuts to the budgets their boards already have approved.

Hanover schools Superintendent Stewart D. Roberson said Monday that "all indications are . . . the need for continuing cuts in the 2010-11 budget has ended."

The Hanover schools will take an $18.6 million hit going into the fiscal year that starts in July. School officials there are cutting 171 positions and increasing class sizes, among other things. An additional $5 million that was projected to be cut on top of that is now offset by the smaller payments the system has to make into the Virginia Retirement System.

The $198 million budget the Hanover School Board adopted in January is $15 million less than the current year's budget.

"It's great to have closure on the state decision-making" process, Roberson added. "We're not having to take it day by day."

Chesterfield County schools spokesman Shawn Smith said the state's budget won't dramatically change the $42 million in funding reductions that the system expects for the 2010-11 school year.

The Chesterfield School Board approved a $548 million plan last month that includes $26.5 million in cuts. That translates to 196 positions that will be eliminated, plus the closing of the system's alternative middle school, Perrymont Middle. The system's current budget is $571.6 million.

School officials are waiting to see if the county will help close the gap for an additional $16 million in cuts that are needed on top of the $26.5 million. If not, the system will cut an additional 117 positions and reduce athletic and academic supplements to staff by 15 percent.

Henrico school officials echoed those thoughts.

Last week, the Henrico School Board approved a $494.6 million budget that cuts more than 100 positions and increases class sizes. The current budget is about $518.4 million.

"We don't think we have to cut anymore," said schools spokesman Mychael Dickerson, "but we don't think we're going to throw anything back into the budget."

Richmond school officials did not return calls for comment about its budget. Allan Carmody, director of budget and management for Chesterfield County, said he was not available yesterday to discuss the budget.

Contact Holly Prestidge at (804) 649-6945 or hprestidge@timesdispatch.com.

Contact Katherine Calos at (804) 649-6433 or kcalos@timesdispatch.com.

Staff writer Will Jones contributed to this report.