By Jenny Hellwig
Lexington City Council is searching for a new city manager, who will oversee up to $100 million in capital projects in the next decade.
City Manager Jim Halasz, who plans to retire in mid-January, said that it is important for the new manager to move fast and help set priorities.
“We don’t want to leave a city council 20 years from now with our problem,” he said. “You can’t keep waiting, can’t keep passing it on to the next city manager or the next city council.”
The projects include a new building to house the social services department, as well as renovations to City Hall, the county jail and county high school. A major expense will be updating the water treatment and wastewater plants, Halasz said.
Additionally, Lexington needs to continue replacing old water and sewer lines.
Rockbridge County and Buena Vista will share the costs for many of these projects such as the jail, which is estimated to cost around $30 million.
The new city manager will advise city council on which projects come first and how to pay for them.
Davenport & Co., a Richmond consulting firm hired by the city, recommended that Lexington raise the property tax rate two cents per $100 in order to support its long-term capital funding plan. The current real estate tax rate is 92 cents per $100 of the assessed property value.
The report indicates that the city could instead raise meals, sales, or other taxes to generate this revenue.
Halasz believes the city council will need to raise taxes on lodging, meals or properties to generate enough revenue to fund the projects.
However, City Council Member David Sigler said that an increase in property taxes would be a last resort. “I’m not against raising taxes when it needs to be done. But this past year, we had a $2 million surplus,” Sigler said. “I think we can find the savings within our budget.”
The search process
“We’ve got a 50% chance of getting someone with experience.” – Frank Friedman
Halasz, who is 66, was hired in November 2019. After serving a promised four years, he said that he is retiring in order to spend more time with his wife. Previously, he worked for more than three decades, including as a county administrator for Halifax County.
The city council recently hired the search firm Baker Tilly, which is advertising the position with a salary range from $125,000 to $150,000.
Mayor Frank Friedman said that the tight labor market could make the search more difficult.
“The concern is that there may be 10 places looking for city managers and only five [candidates] out there with experience. So we’ve got a 50% chance of getting someone with experience,” Friedman said.
Sigler said that they have received 31 applications for the job so far, and the city will begin to review applications Oct. 6.
It is the council’s goal to make a decision by the end of the year, he said.
Looking forward
Halasz said higher salaries are necessary for the city to remain competitive.
The fiscal year 2024 city budget went into effect July 1 and gave a 5% pay increase for public employees.
“If you don’t reward them, you don’t have them,” he said.