At the Tuesday, May 19th at 7:30 pm Town Council meeting, the proposed fiscal year 2009-2010 budget is on the agenda.
A Public Hearing relative to proposed fee increases is scheduled, as well as the regular Citizen Comments portion of the agenda.
The fee increases are relative to land development -- costs associated with reviewing large building plans, subdivisions and plats. These fees do not cover the town's actual costs, even when one excludes related personnel expenses, and have not been increased in at least a decade.
As this is also the second time council has had the upcoming budget on its agenda, it is the second reading. At this point, council may make motions to amend anything presented to date and vote to make changes.
This means citizens may see a budget revised and unlike what has been presented to the public so far, being adopted at this same meeting. This is historically how council has proceeded. The new fiscal year begins July 1.
Any previous discussions or information can fly out the window at this point, so if you really care about how the town of Christiansburg will generate and spend revenues over the next 12 months, plan on attending this meeting. If you are interested in certain land use issues, you have even more reasons to attend.