BRISTOL, Va. (WJHL) — The Bristol, Virginia City Council approved a real estate tax increase on Tuesday and there could be more tax hikes in the future.
City leaders are also considering more than doubling the monthly solid waste collection fee as it eyes more revenue to fix the city’s troubled and now closed landfill.
The council unanimously approved an increase in the city’s real estate tax, bumping the rate from $1.12 to $1.17 per $100 of assessed property value.
That means a homeowner who paid $1,680 in taxes last year will pay $1,755 in 2024.
The new tax revenue will primarily go towards paying for over $60 million in projects to safely close Bristol, Virginia’s landfill and to settle a federal lawsuit against the city.
Mayor Neal Osborne called it a necessary cost.
“Because of the unique situation with our landfill — it’s one of the only quarry landfills in the United States — it’s expensive to do, so it costs money to do business,” Osborne said.
Since the landfill is now closed, Osborne said the city will also lose revenue in commercial garbage collection contracts. So, the city is considering increasing the solid waste collection fee from $33 a month to $72.
“We were able to subsidize the residential collection cost with commercial contracts,” he said. “With the landfill closed in September all that goes away.”
The council did not vote on the solid waste fee but Osborne expects it to happen later this month.
