Roanoke City Manager Valmarie Turner on Monday will present next year’s proposed budget to the Roanoke City Council — which could include a hiring freeze for over 100 positions, a delay of capital projects and $75 million in debt being issued for the next fiscal year.
The past year has been marked by budget cuts and difficult conversations relating to the city’s financial status, as Turner began her role with the city two months before proposing an extremely tight budget.
Last March, Turner introduced a budget that included across-the-board cuts, an increase in the meals tax and flat funding for Roanoke City Public Schools, meaning the division would receive the same revenue contribution as the year before. These measures were taken in order to allow the city to raise employee compensation — with an end goal of all employees making an annual salary of at least $42,000 — and to address backlogged maintenance to city buildings, which city officials said had been deferred for years…