CHESAPEAKE — City leaders adopted a fiscal 2027 operating budget that prioritizes public safety pay initiatives, youth and recreational programs and employee raises.
Chesapeake City Council on Tuesday approved a $1.7 billion operating budget, which will fund 3.5% employee wage increases, step increases for public safety, additional youth and recreational programs, and nearly a dozen new full-time positions at the public pool slated to open next year in South Norfolk. The multiyear capital improvement program totals $245 million for fiscal 2027 and will prioritize fire station replacements and equipment upgrades.
The operating budget also includes at least $302 million for schools — a $12.2 million local share increase from fiscal 2026. Other priorities include summer youth events and a new summer youth employment program.
Several residents pushed back, however, against council’s decision to move surplus funds from the city’s two special tax districts — Greenbrier and South Norfolk — to the general fund balance.
The budget does make some cuts. Chesapeake is declining some federal funding for a couple capital projects that are too costly and not feasible at this time, including a project elevating Battlefield Boulevard to help address flooding, and a project converting sidewalks along Cedar Road into multi-use paths.
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The CIP prioritizes some fire station replacements, with $56 million allocated to replace fire station 4 on North Battlefield Boulevard. Funding is allocated in future years to replace fire station 14 and the 5th police precinct in Greenbrier with a joint facility.
The CIP also includes $16.5 million to replace the city’s radio system and $16.4 million across multiple years to replace fire apparatus and medic unit equipment. A total of $1 million is allocated for the city’s Open Space and Agricultural Preservation Program.
Taxes and fees
The proposed budget doesn’t increase the real estate tax rate of $1.01 per $100 of assessed value, but homeowners may have higher bills due to increased assessments.
The personal property tax rate will remain $4.08 per $100 of assessed value.
Residential water and sewer rates will increase by 4.9% beginning Jan. 1 as part of a multiyear rate increase plan adopted last year. The bimonthly water service charge will increase to $25.01 and the water usage rate will increase to $4.95 per 100 cubic feet. The bimonthly sewer service charge will be $17.20 and the sewer usage rate will increase to $3.09 per 100 cubic feet.
Greenbrier and South Norfolk TIF funds
Special tax increment financing (TIF) districts were established in South Norfolk and Greenbrier in the early 2000s. Portions of tax revenue from property assessments within the districts are earmarked specifically for projects there, primarily to spur economic development and improve infrastructure.
Both districts have their own funds. For fiscal 2027, the Greenbrier TIF totals $15.6 million, which is a 3.5% increase from the 2026 budget. The South Norfolk TIF totals $14.7 million, a 4% increase. As revenue is received each year, the difference between projected revenue and budgeted expenses within each district is sent back into the respective districts’ fund balance to use for future projects as needed.
All council members but Ella Ward voted to declare $4.3 million from the South Norfolk TIF and $5.7 million from the Greenbrier TIF as surplus dollars that will be transferred to the city’s general fund balance. Of the total $10 million surplus, $8 million will be for general use, while $2 million will be used to fund enhanced public safety initiatives.
Several Chesapeake residents spoke against the TIF money transfers, particularly for South Norfolk — a longtime underinvested area.
“South Norfolk has been neglected for 51 years,” said Chesapeake resident George Reed, who also heads the nonprofit New Chesapeake Men for Progress. Reed said he was speaking in opposition on behalf of at least five civic leagues. “Yet you want to come and take this money and take it somewhere else. What kind of people are you? Don’t you have any respect, any concern for those of us who live in South Norfolk?”
Brad Moore, a South Norfolk resident, said though he was opposed to the surplus transfer, he praised council members for the progress he credited them with making in the area.
“But we can really do a better job,” Moore said. “Let’s lower those surplus numbers. If we have a surplus, fine, but let’s make sure things are taken care of.”
City Manager Chris Price said he anticipates a smaller surplus transfer from the South Norfolk TIF in future budgets, particularly as major projects like the new pool at the Cuffee Center and a new South Norfolk municipal building come online. And future infrastructure projects slated for Greenbrier will also result in a smaller surplus, he said.
“We take all of the eligible capital improvement projects that departments are proposing, and for ones that are eligible for TIF funding, that’s the primary source of funding that we use,” Price said. “In years where we don’t have enough projects to match the available amount of money, then we declare a surplus, and by policy, a few years ago council had directed that surplus to the public safety pay plan, and ultimately the entire pay plan for the city.”
Some TIF funding has been earmarked for fiscal 2027 in the multi-year CIP, including $760,000 for property acquisition in South Norfolk’s commercial corridors. The South Norfolk Municipal Building is a multiyear project that’s expected to be complete by summer 2028, with about $45 million allocated to date from a mix of TIF funding and bonds.
Another $280,000 will go toward sidewalk additions and expansions.
For the Greenbrier TIF, $1.3 million is budgeted in 2027 to fund a study to extend Eden Way from Crossways Boulevard to Battlefield Boulevard with new roadways and sidewalks. And $2 million of the fund balance is being used for various infrastructure improvements across Greenbrier.
Natalie Anderson, 757-732-1133, natalie.anderson@virginiamedia.com
