WILLIAMSBURG — Williamsburg City Council unanimously voted to approve the Fiscal Year 2026 budget at Thursday’s city council meeting.
The original proposal saw a budget of $112.3 million, however, between its April 7 meeting and the meeting held on April 10, several changes to the original budget proposal were made to reduce expenditures to $1.9 million. Following the April 10 meeting, an additional total of almost $1.4 million was cut, putting the final approved budget at $103.3 million.
In addition to approving the budget, the council voted unanimously to adopt new water rates — the rate for customers inside the city increases from $5.30 to $6.89 per 1,000 gallons, and the rate for customers outside of the city increases from $6.36 to $8.27 per 1,000 gallons.
Regarding the proposed 1.5% increase to the meals tax, 2% increase to the lodging tax and 10% admissions tax, which has drawn vocal opposition from some members of the community, the council postponed the adoption of the ordinance until the January 8, 2026, city council meeting.
“There’s been a lot of discussion [about the proposed meal tax] amongst city council members, a lot of meetings, we’ve met with people in the community to discuss different aspects of the budget, but one thing I want to reiterate, that just because you made a suggestion and it is not included in the proposed budget doesn’t mean it wasn’t seriously considered,” said Vice Mayor W. Pat Dent. “This has been as difficult for us as it has been for you, and how you feel in the community, making these decisions to look at tax increases of any type.”
“I have to make decisions that I think are in the best interest of the city. And we, as council members, just because we’re council members, doesn’t mean that we don’t feel the effects of things that happen with the economy as well. So it really becomes a difficult challenge when we talk about raising taxes,” he continued.
Regarding the admissions tax, an exception is given for William & Mary due to state law, as well as charitable organization events with less than 2,000 in admissions per year. It also includes a 2% dealer discount for meals, lodging, and admissions tax payments to allow the city to compensate restaurants, hotels, and tours for credit card fees that will be incurred.
Another big-ticket item that had been discussed was the inclusion of a new library within the Capitol Improvement plan for 2026. However, it was emphasized again during council comments section that while the library is included in the budget, there is no guarantee that there will be a library and it will be subject to separate discussions and votes down the line. The council noted its inclusion is only to assure that money is set aside if it is the will of the city to move forward with the library.
There will be a public input session for the proposed Williamsburg Library scheduled for May 15 from 5-7:30 p.m. and May 20 from 1-3:30 p.m. Both meetings will take place at the Williamsburg Fire Station on 440 N. Boundary St. The input sessions are being held by the project team to understand the needs of the community and library patrons, and to influence the design and organization.
The budget will officially go into effect July 1.
The next city council meeting will be on June 12 at 2 p.m. in the Stryker Center. For more information, visit the official website.
