Williamsburg City Council approves $103.3 million budget but postpones vote on meals, lodging and admissions taxes

WILLIAMSBRUG – The Williamsburg City Council unanimously approved a $103.3 million budget on Thursday that keeps the current real estate tax rate in place but increases the water rate by 30%.

The final million budget reflects about $9 million in cuts compared to the budget that was initially proposed by City Manager Andrew Trivette in March.

In a surprise move, council members voted to defer a decision to raise the city’s meals and lodging tax and introduce a new 10% admissions tax. The topic will come to a vote again at the City Council meeting scheduled for January 8, 2026.

The proposed meals tax was met with significant pushback from local restauranteurs who said it would negatively impact tourism, reduce visitation to local dining establishments and create an undue strain on lower income residents.

Some locals also expressed concern that an admissions tax could harm tourism at a time when tourism revenue is down nationwide.

Colonial Williamsburg spokeswoman Ellen Peltz told The Triangle the hikes would “jeopardize the work of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and all local businesses to make Williamsburg an attractive destination” for both residents and visitors.

Expenditure reductions include the elimination of $270,000 in debt for a proposed new children’s park, the elimination of $500,000 in African American Heritage Trail art, the postponement of a $300,000 Quarterpath restroom project and the elimination of a planned restoration project for the Waller Mill Mountain Bike Trail.

Changes to the annual paving schedule also net savings of $330,000. The city decided to split the funding of its comprehensive plan over two fiscal years for an additional savings of $300,000.

The current real estate tax rate of 62 cents per $100 of assessed value will remain in place. However, effective July 1, water rates will go up by $1.59 per 1,000 gallons as part of a plan to upgrade aging utility infrastructure.

Trivette said the budget was designed to help the city stave off slower revenue growth, modernize aging infrastructure and address increased funding demands for Williamsburg-James City County Schools.

City residents once again spoke out to express concern about the proposed budget during the council meeting on Thursday prior to the vote.

Steven Kennedy, an investment strategist at the Williamsburg Financial Group, said the city risks “taxing restaurants out of business” if the meals tax is increased.

Kennedy shared an email from a client who stated, “The government makes more money from my guests than I do.”

Noreen Graziano, the president of the Williamsburg Area Restaurant Association, said the meals tax would further harm restaurants that are still struggling to recover from the pandemic and now face rising costs for food, staff spending, utilities and rent.

“The city should be doing everything in its power to incentivize commerce versus burdening the fragile restaurant sector still recovering from Covid,” Graziano said. “While I understand the importance of maintaining essential public services, we must do so in a way that does not disproportionately burden the businesses who contribute to the vibrancy of the community.”

Mayor Douglas Pons acknowledged that the budget cycle was particularly tough this year.

“We’ve heard a tremendous amount about the impact of taxation on business, and I think you know that this is not an easy decision,” Pons said. “The funds go to supporting the city that I want to see for all of our residents, and that’s a city that is meeting the expectations of people of all ages, from our young children entering school and going through K-12 education, our visitors, our homeowners, our renters, everyone.”

Vice Mayor Pat Dent said the council members debated the budget privately and spent many hours considering opportunities to trim it down.

“I don’t ever recall making this many cuts to a proposed budget to try to get it down to a manageable number, and that’s attributable to input from the community, a lot of work from city council members and a lot of work from city staff to try to whittle this thing down to where it’s manageable.”

Council member Stacy Kern-Scheerer said the final budget was an intensive process that involved careful consideration of community feedback.

“I do think we should take a minute and be appreciative for all of us to work together to trim this budget by $9 million. That’s not nothing,” Kern-Scheerer said. “To cast that aside, I think is a mistake, because it kind of devalues the dialogues that have happened over the last month.”

Residents will have the opportunity to weigh in on the city’s proposed new library at public meetings on Thursday, May 15, from 5 – 7:30 p.m. and Tuesday, May 20, from 1 – 3:30 p.m.