RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — While Richmond residents will not see a four-cent real estate tax cut, Richmond City Council voted in favor of a competing tax relief proposal from Mayor Levar Stoney on Tuesday.
City Council has tabled the decision between the two competing proposals for quite some time. This update means Richmond’s real estate tax rate will remain at $1.20, but there are a few other prongs to Mayor Stoney’s plan that he said will help provide relief.
“When we lose our population, everything else is lost in the process as well,” a city official said at Tuesday’s meeting.
According to the 2023 American Community Survey, more than a quarter of Richmond renters spent more than half of their income on housing.
“Whether it’s a student or an elderly person, they need help,” a resident said during the public comment portion of the meeting.
Tuesday’s vote was pivotal as it ended City Council Member Reva Trammell’s long fight for a four-cent real estate tax cut, the city hasn’t seen this type of cut since 2008. City Council’s vote against the idea likely disappointed some residents who took the podium prior to the vote in support of the cut. Some suggested a permanent cut could have been life-changing.