Act Now on the City's Budget

 
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

 

Last year the compelling and well-organized advocacy by our community was able to show Charlottesville’s City Council and Albemarle’s Board of Supervisors that we care about climate change; this ultimately resulted in their approval of important greenhouse gases (GHG) emission reduction goals. 

Throughout March municipal governments in Virginia are undergoing the final steps for reviewing and approving its budget for FY21 (Jul/2020 to Jun/2021). A government budget weighs policy priorities against available public resources and defines the ways and means of providing public programs and services. Many of the problems and challenges faced by cities and counties are most directly addressed through the government’s budget process, especially for municipalities that reside in Dillon’s Rule states such as Virginia.

Albemarle is off to a good start on achieving its leadership climate goals by creating the County of Albemarle’s Climate Action Pool of $500,000, which aims to support strategies to address climate change and currently considers an additional appropriation of $250,000 to the Climate Action Reserve for projects to increase energy efficiency of lower-income households. Charlottesville’s proposed City Budget for FY21, however, has not identified climate protection as a “budget priority” and has reduced allocation to climate-related investments. 

During the next few weeks Charlottesville will review and approve the proposed budget for FY 2021. We believe it is important to organize and act now, in order to ensure that our community leadership on climate is more than an aspirational statement! 

For effective budget advocacy, the National League of Cities (NLC) recommends the combination of two key elements:  a detailed budget analysis, in order to explain its implications in clear and compelling ways, and strategic advocacy, to reach out to policymakers and other stakeholders. C3 has already conducted a detailed analysis of the City’s FY21 Budget, and now we need your help to strategically advocate for: (1) A strengthened Environmental Sustainability Division within the City, (2) Incentives for cleaner, equitable, and efficient energy consumption, (3) Incentives for cleaner, equitable, and efficient transportation choices; and, (4) Mechanisms to ensure that climate is a prioritized criteria in key City decision-making. 

In order to empower our community’s climate advocates for effective budget advocacy, C3 will be hosting an electronic Facebook livestream event on Friday, Mar/13, 4pm, to present C3’s policy recommendations, and discuss key advocacy information and tools. We also encourage you to support for a higher climate focus on the city budget by showing up in person in the next two Budget FY21 Public Hearings. The first community members to sign up to speak will be granted the opportunity to express their thoughts in public, the sign sheet will be available at 6:00pm but we recommend arriving earlier to secure your spot. 

Advocates can also show their support online by signing on C3’s Community Climate Letter and/or sending an email to City Council (email information here). 

ADD YOUR VOICE today and help us ensure that climate protection is a priority in our community!

With gratitude,

Caetano de Campos Lopes