Calling For Accountability

Fiscal responsibility - this was a key pillar in my campaign for Council in 2020.

So, you can imagine my utter dismay when I heard the Unassigned Fund Balance for Lynchburg was amazingly sitting at $50 million when the initial projection was $22 million, an awfully miscalculated difference of over $27 million!

Throughout the budget process, I advocated for the taxpayer, front-line city workers, public safety investments (I include public works, 911 dispatchers, and some others in this), targeted compression policies, and more, ALL which could've been achieved, had Council not voted to adopt this blunder.

And yet, among many other issues and reasons why I voted against it, this budget included a Property Tax increase on you.

I twice supported a motion to equalize the property tax rate, and Council twice rejected it; I twice motioned to have an open debate - let alone a final vote on - a lower rate, and Council twice rejected those as well; finally, I voted against the Council adopted rate which was a tax hike in the millions. I even recommended and voted to lower this very same fund balance percentage to accommodate some of these proposals. This too was rejected. We see now any one of those proposals could have been adopted.

Worse, even if Council did listen and fully equalize (no tax increase), providing Council thought more of your wallet, these projections would still be off by tens of millions of dollars! It communicates something or someone was incredibly off.

My role is to represent you all, and after seeing the budget process unfold by hearing hundreds of you call for tax relief, accountability must be called for, and that's exactly what I am doing. Crazy year, or no crazy year, the public deserves the best policies and projections, full-stop. It is my expectation a gaffe like this be appropriately addressed to the gravity of the offense.

Council was wrong to adopt this budget and we now know the fantasies that were crafted as a means to berate conservatives during the budget process as a response to our recommendations were nothing more than unsubstantiated grandstanding.

In the end, the buck stops with us. I know my conscience is clear because I voted no and fought with everything I had against, what has now been re-affirmed, a very bad document.

When you get your tax increase in a couple of weeks, remember this letter.

What can you do?
Forward this email to five friends. 
Contact Council and share your thoughts: City_Council@LynchburgVA.Gov.
Join me in voting for Glenn Youngkin and the other Republicans in this election as Lynchburg going red will send a very strong message for local elections next year. A change is needed.

Best,


Chris Faraldi, M.A.
Ward IV Representative
Lynchburg City Council