By JIM BUTLER

A third of the way through its fiscal year the City of Alexandria seems to be tracking the administration’s budget concerns back in April as the FY25-26 plan was under consideration.

Mayor Jacques Roy at the time noted the City Council’s apparent reluctance to address utility issues and a seemingly equal public disdain to continue some property tax support as major factors in an extreme change in capital outlay planning.

“Despite third-party warnings, the inability to rely on renewal of ad valorem revenue and adjustment of the rates for the Alexandria Utility System result in threat to operations and capital planning of historic proportion,” Roy’s budget message said.

There has been no apparent movement on the utility rates issue (including agenda to-date for September 9 meeting) and those most vocal on social media (not necessarily city residents) are questioning why renew the tax in question (or any other tax for that matter).

What council members have the stomach for regarding utility rates remains pretty much unsaid to this point.

Roy noted in April what he termed the council’s “anemic appetite” to address rate reform and its “struggle with a coherent plan for capital improvements funding” as causes for drastic change in capital program planning.

General Fund capital projects amount to $8.8 million among 20 improvements; 27 Enterprise (utility system) projects are forecast at $9.32 million.

Speaking to the loss of out-years capital planning, the mayor said his team thought at the time the outlook for ad valorem renewal “is substantially low.”

Roy added he felt the funding issues reflected by the budget are “self-generated and avoidable,” and noted the “rescaling” required in the fiscal plan.