Lynchburg city manager proposes budget without cutting public safety

LYNCHBURG, Va. – Lynchburg city leaders have started the process of finding in new ways to spend your tax dollars. City Manager Bonnie Svrcek has found a way to balance her $184 million budget without cutting public safety. 

In February, Svrcek requested all departments to submit a budget  that was cut by 2 percent, which could've cut several emergency responder positions.

Instead, on Tuesday, Sverck proposed to City Council cutting more than $748,000 from Lynchburg City Schools. She also proposed cutting vacant positions in other city departments and increasing the cybersecurity budget by $146,000 increase. 

"With expenditure or revenues that have only increased $160,000 and to have a budget that does not impact citizen services, I could not be prouder of my department heads and my budget staff in proposing this to City Council,” Svrcek said. 

In the next few weeks, the city manager and her staff will walk the City Council through the budget and, next month, council members will decide what stays or what goes.