HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — Henrico County leaders have reaffirmed their commitment to providing reliable water services to residents after a failure at Richmond's water treatment plant earlier this year.
The incident left thousands of county residents, primarily in the eastern parts of the county, without clean, running water for several days.
Tonya Martin, who spoke with CBS6 January 8, said she hoped Henrico leadership would consider building a second water treatment plant in the eastern part of the county to limit or completely eliminate its reliance on the city's Water Treatment Plant and the county's one water treatment facility in the West End.
"We're just as important as the West End. We pay our taxes just like them," Martin told CBS6's Maggi Marshall at a water distribution site.
On Tuesday, county officials announced plans to allocate $50 million from the upcoming budget toward enhancing Henrico's public water system.
This funding is described as a "down payment" as leaders explore strategies for addressing existing challenges.
"The initial allocations show the seriousness and commitment to addressing the challenges that we have at hand," said Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas.
Vithoulkas said the $50 million will be budgeted each year for the next five years.
Henrico Board of Supervisors Chair Dan Schmitt emphasized the necessity for reliability and maintenance of the water system.
Watch: Henrico may address its own needs after Richmond water crisis: 'We can't let this happen again'
"We've heard residents say, 'I want it to be maintained. I want it to be reliable, and I want to know that if something were to go wrong, there's a backup plan,'" Schmitt said.
County officials are currently evaluating several short-term and long-term solutions to improve the water system, with costs ranging from $117 million to $1.2 billion.
Vithoulkas assured that the funding initiative will not raise utility bills for water and sewer users beyond the planned rate adjustments.
"That project will not cost ratepayers any more than what has been planned, and the county has been operating under a premise that those rates will be adjusted by 5% a year," he stated.
Discussions with Richmond Mayor Danny Avula regarding the future of the partnership at the Richmond Water Treatment Plant are set to begin next week.
"Henrico wants to be as helpful as possible," Vithoulkas added. "The city has provided water to us for many, many years. We have an obligation to be as helpful as possible to make sure that plant is in good order, good operational order."
The county's proposed fiscal budget exceeds $1.3 billion in general funds, with more than 80% earmarked for education and public safety.
This budget also includes cuts to real estate and personal property taxes not seen since 1987, according to county officials.
"We've had assessment increases in the county, in the region, nationally. Homes are worth a lot more, and so you know, folks are paying more," Vithoulkas said.
"I think it's a collective response to what our residents are needing and asking for, and also it's a commitment by this county over decades, and also this board, even this year, a renewed commitment to delivering the high level, quality services that Henrico County residents have come to expect, yet also being real responsive to their needs and their everyday household budgeting," Schmitt said.
The budget also includes a 6% raise for county employees and HCPS employees.
Vithoulkas said the county would leverage rate increases on a category of personal property tax that applies to data center computers and related equipment to offset the proposed tax cuts.
"These companies are locating throughout the United States. They’re paying taxes in other localities that are significantly higher. Even with the $2.60 rate that is imposed for data centers, they will be a dollar less than they are in Northern Virginia and compare that to what every other business is paying in Henrico, which is going to be $3.35 cents," Vithoulkas said. "There’s still a bargain in Henrico.”
The proposed budget will be presented to the Board of Supervisors by March 11 and is expected to be adopted in early April.
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