More Police, Fire/EMS, Public Works staff included in Williamsburg's draft FY27 budget
Staffing requests left out still include dedicated EMS supervisors, additional patrol officers, and several other public works positions
Several Williamsburg city department heads appeared before City Council during an April 6 work session to justify personnel requests included in Interim City Manager Michele Mixner DeWitt’s proposed FY27 budget. The budget funds 14 new full-time equivalent positions at a projected cost of approximately $981,000, with $884,000 drawn from the General Fund and $97,000 from the Utility Fund. An additional 9.5 requested FTEs, projected to cost $855,000, were not included.
Approved positions include three patrol officers, three firefighter/medics, four public works apprentices and managers, a sports tourism coordinator for the park and recreation team, an assistant park manager for Waller Mill Park, and a communications specialist for the city manager’s office. Not included in the proposed budget are three dedicated EMS supervisors, three additional patrol officers, three public works positions, and a 0.5 FTE permanent part-time assistant registrar for Voter Registration and Elections.
The $121.1 million spending plan, a 17% increase over the prior year, holds the real estate tax rate flat at 62 cents per $100 of assessed value and proposes a 7% water rate increase, from $6.89 to $7.37 per 1,000 gallons, to fund water and sewer infrastructure upgrades. The budget also reflects the first full year of revenue from three tax changes implemented in January 2026: a meals tax increase from 5.0% to 6.5%, a lodging tax increase from 5.0% to 7.0%, and a new 10% admissions tax on event ticket sales capped at $10 per ticket.
Together, those changes are projected to generate $3.2 million in additional revenue, which the city plans to apply toward rising contractual obligations to regional partners including Williamsburg-James City County Schools, the Williamsburg Area Transit Authority, and the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail, which together require $2.3 million in additional funding.
Keep reading for a breakdown of what department heads told the Council about their staffing needs and what will likely be approved.
Police
Chief Sean Dunn requested six patrol officers to raise minimum shift staffing from four to five. The proposed budget funds three of those positions; three were not included. Dunn noted the request has been before the Council for four consecutive years and that the current minimum of four has not changed since before his tenure.
“Our thoughts are and I know you also hear from citizens who feel like, ‘Hey, we wish that there were more presence to deal with whatever issue it is that we may be dealing with’ and I would say that largely, if you really peel back the layers, that comes back to the level of staffing that we have 24/7 on our streets,” Dunn told the Council.
Fire & EMS
The Fire Department’s requests were split, with three firefighter/medic positions approved and three dedicated EMS supervisor roles left unfunded. The approved positions allow the department to add a second captain to each shift and reach an 11-person staffing minimum, eliminating cross-staffing and enabling simultaneous operation of a ladder truck and two medic units without relying on mutual aid from neighboring counties.
The unfunded supervisor roles were requested to manage the department’s pharmacy program and provide on-scene leadership for high-risk interventions. EMS Battalion Chief Ciera Fenske, presenting in place of Fire Chief Larry Snyder, cited a 66% increase in patient severity. As an example of these types of procedures, Fenske pointed to rapid sequence intubation, a procedure requiring medics to sedate and temporarily paralyze patients to manage their airways.
“That EMS supervisor position would really give somebody who has that experience and just job knowledge to be able to help facilitate those dangerous and high-risk procedures,” Fenske said.
Public Works & Utilities
Director Jack Reed secured four of his requested positions: a vehicle maintenance apprentice, facility maintenance apprentice, public works operations manager, and utility operations manager. Three others, including a grant administrator, turf manager, and arborist, were not included in the proposed budget.
Reed described a vehicle maintenance operation that has not grown in staffing for decades despite an expanding fleet. “Our current vehicle maintenance staff is three, that’s been the same three people for about 30 years,” he said. “We had one of our staff members go out for a month this year, and so we only had two working on the fleet. The fleet has grown 40% just in the last 10 years, and pure and simple, we can’t keep up.”
Parks and Recreation
Director Robbi Hutton’s two requested positions, a sports tourism coordinator and an assistant park manager, were both included in the proposed budget. Hutton cited growth in weekend tournament activity as a factor in the request. “The sports tourism segment is really growing and so, to help avoid staff burnout, we really need that extra person because whether that person is physically on site, they’re on call every weekend as well,” she said.
City Manager’s Office
DeWitt’s request for a communications specialist was included in the proposed budget. “Because we are such a lean staff across the board, our communication team really jumps in and makes all that much better,” she said, adding that the new position would handle day-to-day media requests, social media, and emergency public information duties.
Next Steps
Residents can review budget materials and submit feedback during the public comment period. The city’s website at williamsburgva.gov/budgetproposal includes the full proposed budget as well as an interactive “Balancing Act” tool that allows residents to adjust expenditures and revenues to model their own version of the budget.
Williamsburg’s interactive “Balancing Act” budget tool
The full budget remains subject to formal Council approval. Public hearings on the proposed budget, water rate increase, and real estate tax rate are scheduled for April 9. A work session is set for May 11, followed by a formal adoption vote on May 14. Note that the printed budget guide lists different dates for those final two meetings; the April 6 presentation slides updated them to May 11 and May 14.
The writer used AI tools and these sources:
Agenda Packet - Williamsburg City Council Work Session April 6, 2026
Video - Williamsburg City Council Work Session April 6, 2026
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