Steve Fundaro / Wavy.com
In fall’s general election ballot, Virginia Beach will decide if they want to increase their property taxes in order to expedite the flood prevention building process. So far, the city has spent $4 million on flood prevention research. Because of rising sea levels; the main infrastructure needed is massive flood gates, new development guidelines, and green infrastructure improvements costing more than the city’s $2.2 billion annual budget.
If the city decides to vote yes on the matter, the city will borrow $567.5 million in order to start 21 flood protection projects that will be scheduled to be completed within seven years. The city property tax would need to be raised 4.3 and 6.4 cents for every $100 of a property’s assessed value. This would bring the cities property tax rate to approximately $1.05 per $100 of a property’s assessed value. This would likely be the property rate of the neighboring city, Chesapeake.