The I Love CVille Show With Jerry Miller! - City Tax Collections, Tourism, Housing Values Down; Does Charlottesville Have A Revenue Problem?

Episode Date: September 12, 2025

The I Love CVille Show headlines: The I Love CVille Network On Vacation Next Week City Tax Collections, Tourism, Housing Values Down Does Charlottesville City Have A Revenue Problem? Chamber Of Commerce Q2, ’25 Retail Report Next Week Payne Opposed To $1.2M For Kentucky Clean Up Crew W&M At Virginia, 12 PM, Saturday, ACCN Ready To Invest In F&B or Experiential Biz (DM Me) Exec Offices For Rent ($350 – $2600), Contact Jerry Read Viewer & Listener Comments Live On-Air The I Love CVille Show airs live Monday – Friday from 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm on The I Love CVille Network. Watch and listen to The I Love CVille Show on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, iTunes, Apple Podcast, YouTube, Spotify, Fountain, Amazon Music, Audible, Rumble and iLoveCVille.com.

Welcome to the I Love Seville Show. My name is Jerry Miller. Thank you kindly for joining us on a Friday. It's the last show of the week, and it's the last show, ladies and gentlemen, until Monday, September 22nd. All next week, the I Love Seville Network is off air. We are on vacation.

Judah with his family in the Outer Banks. My family, my wife, our sons, and I, a well-deserved R&R. We are back in the saddle on Monday, September 22nd with the I Love Seville Network. A lot we need to cover on the show today, ladies and gentlemen. Michael Payne

is opposed to taxpayer resources being allocated to a cleanup firm, a janitorial crew, basically, a glorified janitorial crew out of Louisville, Kentucky. We'll talk about that today. Payne says, hey man,

you got $1.2 million. Why don't we stimulate the economy and try to keep that local? Who's been saying that? Us, for one. Who's been saying that? Who said that first? We have the tape to back it up

on the I Love Seville Show. On today's program, ladies and gentlemen, we are going to talk city tax collection, tourism dollars, and housing values, and how Charlottesville, Virginia,

may have a revenue collection issue. We're going to talk on today's program about the William and Mary matchup Saturday, 12 o'clock, ESPN. Does the fan base care? Does the fan base show up? This is more than just Jimmy's and Joe's, X's and O's. This, ladies and gentlemen, is about the state of a local economy. That topic on today's show.

Jason Noble, I can relate to you. He says it's the only podcast. he's going to be listening to right now, he wants to stay in his local bubble with the darkness that is circulating on the inner webs and in life as we speak. In regards to the darkness,

a father turned in his son. Think about the position the father was in. In the end, the right move was made. But you talk about darkness, a father turned in his son. You talk about darkness. This morning, two children and a wife awoke without.

their husband and their fathers. You talk about darkness, a country divided. You talk about darkness, social media splintering the country. You talk about darkness, and you can fall down a trap of despair. This program, far from that despair, this program about our community and our focus to make it a better community for you and I, for our partners, for our team members, our friends, our colleagues. This program about leaving Charlesville and Almar County in Central of Virginia

in a better place for our kids. A lot we're going to cover on the program. We'll give some love to Conan Owen, Sir Speedy of Central Virginia. Conan Owen and Sir Speedy of Central Virginia are who you call when you need any kind of enhanced signage, logo, business visibility from a marketing and tangible standpoint. window decals, signage, stickers, direct mail, trifolds, pamphlets, lanyards, you name it. Darden, school graduate, Conan Owen, locally owned and operated, Sir Speedy of Central Virginia. Meg Bryce, welcome to the broadcast.

James Watson, Curtis Shaver, welcome to the broadcast. Print, radio and television, welcome to the broadcast. Bessie Nugent, love you, welcome to the broadcast. John Shave, Stephanie Wells, Rhodes, welcome to the broadcast. Carol Thorpe, thank you for watching the program. We're going to cover today. Due to Wickauer, studio camera, two-shot. We welcome the Jack of All Wits, a trusted advisor and voice in this region we call Central Virginia.

Where do you want to begin? Which headlines tickled your fancy? Which headline did not make our rundown should we discuss to start the program? I got a screenshot from Conan Owen. This was an intriguing one. This screenshot, ladies and gentlemen, from the University of Virginia College Republicans. and the University of Virginia College Republicans wrote a letter to interim President Mahoney

and the UVA Board of Visitors and they are demanding their words. I'm going to read it. The College Republicans, the University of Virginia, we demand that those who have justified are called for violence over the past 24 hours as it applies to Charlie Kirk, employees of the University of Virginia,

be held accountable. We demand that you discipline those who are employed by this university, who have conducted this behavior. If this university cared about free speech or democracy, it would act, and that starts with your actions and leadership. We demand you hold accountable the university employees that spoke ill will negatively or said he got what was coming to him. And there's many in the university community that did just that.

That's something that did not make our rundown. Another thing that didn't make our rundown on the Friday edition of the I Love Seville Show is a tweet released by the Jefferson Council. This tweet released within the last two days. Ladies and gentlemen, fires free speech rankings, which focuses on the actual reality on the 257 college campuses in the country, suggests that the University of Virginia is falling down a ranking metric or mechanism on free speech in college campuses. across the United States of America. UVA boasted a number one ranking from the fire organization for their free speech environment last year, particularly due to UVA having a statement of a free expression and free inquiry.

But policy doesn't reflect reality these days as UVA has dropped from 1 to 21. And it has an F ranking in three of six categories with no higher than a C ranking in any of them. That did not make our rundown. Ladies and gentlemen. So here you have a third party saying the University of Virginia is not doing a good job with freedom of speech. I find it interesting that the, what was it,

College Republicans letter mentioned, I mean, let's put it plainly. They're essentially calling for, you know, cancel culture. They want to cancel some, I'm guessing, professors and other staff members, while also calling on freedom of speech.

Now, I'm personally not a fan of cancel culture, but as Jerry has mentioned, I believe just yesterday, despite the fact that it's a free country and you can say anything you want, there are often consequences to the words that we speak. Free speech has consequences.

Vanessa Parcoe likes to mention that comment on the talk show in the comment section. You, the viewer, and listener, your comments are appreciated. Make sure we're balanced correctly in the frames. I look a little taller than you. Maybe that's how I'm sitting. And I'm moving. And I'm moving. Okay.

That's on me then. College Republicans are calling on the University of Virginia with a written letter and sign to the president, interim, and the board of visitors that any of the professors at UVA, any paid staff at the University of Virginia should be reprimanded, held accountable, their jobs at risk for their commentary as it applies to Charlie Kirk's murder. Those same college Republicans are suggesting free speech is not what it should be at the University of Virginia. There is a fine line here because it seems to be they're talking on both sides of their mouth. If the University of Virginia staffers are to have free speech, then they could

all for commentary on Charlie Kirk's murder and where they stand on it. Even if it's a, even if it's a distasteful, despicable, yeah, distasteful. And despicable. But on the flip side of the coin, there are consequences for said free speech and someone else signed your paycheck. There is, because of the outpouring of despicable comments coming out recently, I've found out that there's somebody created a website. I'm not sure if I should say the name, but it basically is it vets.

People can turn in those who have made comments, and once their information is vetted, once their social media posts have been found and verified. They're doxxed? This website puts them on, puts their tweets, whatever it is that they posted, on the homepage, showing the image of the social media

giving their name I don't know that it's I don't know that I would say it's quite doxing them I don't think it's giving any information other than any that you couldn't find on their social media posts

but that being said I hate any of that doxing rhetoric I'm not a fan either I hate any of the doxing rhetoric I hate any of the narcking stuff like when Yonkin rolled out the the narking phone numbers

at the beginning of COVID. Remember that? When it's like, narc on somebody that's doing something that we don't agree with Governor Virginia on this phone number and leave a voice message. I don't like any of the doxing with the stuff that's on the subreddit, which of the businesses locally voted for Trump. I don't like any of this stuff that's trying to dox or narc on people that are offering commentary on Charlie Kirk. Agreed.

It's a free speech world. Your free speech has consequences. Those consequences aren't doxing and narking, crowdsourcing, intel. on people who are offering free speech. But we have this dichotomy, we have this dynamic, we have this crossroads, where the Jefferson Council highlights in the fire rankings that UVA has fallen from number one to number 21,

that the University of Virginia has at best in the six grading categories Cs for cats. That's at best. And in three of the six categories, has an F, F as in Frank, failure. That did even make our rundown today, ladies and gentlemen. of topics we're going to cover, but we relay it to you, the viewer, and listener, because the show is about local. What did make our rundown is commentary that happened on the I Love's on Real Talk with Keith Smith this morning on the I Love Seville Network.

And I'm going to set a stage for you, the viewer, and listener, for a troubling trend in Charlottesville City. This week alone, we learn tourism dollars, a Virginia tourism report that was released. You can find this tourism report, ladies and gentlemen. through Virginia tourism, you can fight it online. You can Google this headline. Tourism brought in nearly $1 billion to the area in 2024 from Seville right now. Visitors to Almaro County in Charlottesville spent nearly $1 billion in 2024. That's the headline, a raise of almost 3.5% in 2024 versus 2023. The true story in this headline is the fact that Charlottesville City tourism dollars in

2024 versus 2023 were down 1%. A massive drop of 1%. And ladies and gentlemen, when the city is bringing in $402 million in 2024, a 1% drop is millions of dollars.

It's millions of dollars. And that's what the city generated in tourism in 2024, $402,600,000 a 1% drop versus 2023. That's the first KPI that should concern you. The second KPI that you concern you is the first quarter, Chamber of Commerce, year over year, local sales tax revenue collection report.

And the first quarter of this year versus the first quarter of 2024, city of Charlottesville, ladies and gentlemen, was down 2.53% while Almaro County was up two points, a delta, a spread of four and a half plus points. So here's a second KPI that should concern you, right? first quarter of this year versus first quarter of last year sales tax collections was down that does not include meals tax or lodging tax

that does include internet tax collection so tourism is down a point in 2024 verse 2023 the first quarter of this year versus the first quarter of last year sales tax collection is down 2.53% in the city of Charlottesville Neil Williamson tells us this morning

that this coming week the Chamber of Commerce will release the halftime report the Q2 report Judah and I are both betting that it's going to be down. We're both betting that it's going to be down because of why, Judah? You had a very compelling answer to this when I asked you on Real Talk this morning. Because very little has been done, well, not a little has been done. Nothing has been done about the issues on the downtown mall.

We have not seen things get better. In fact, someone would argue we've seen things get worse, especially in recent weeks. And as more people, as word gets out, the downtown mall is not a, a place to visit. That's going to affect the money that comes into the downtown mall, which is money that comes into the city and is tax revenue. So, well said you. So tourism in 2024 versus 2023 in the city is down one point. Sales tax collection of the city Q1 of this year versus Q1 of last year is down 2.53%. The second quarter report, the halftime report, is going to be released this week. I think we're all realizing that it's going to be down versus Q2,

2024. Time will tell. We're off next week, so we can't address it in real time, but you bet your bottom dollar. It'll be one of the first things that we talk about when we're back in the saddle, ladies and gentlemen, on Monday, September 22nd. Compounding this point of concern is this. I learned from Real Talk with Keith Smith and Keith Smith, who's been in the real estate game since 1987. The man knows real estate like the Pope knows Holy Water. The man knows real estate like Judah knows deadham in the summer. The man knows real estate like turkey makes me drowsy on Thanksgiving. Charlottesville City, 2024, Judah, 2024 housing, all product type, new construction, existing construction, detached condo. All product type in 2024, the median value for a unit sold

296 of them in the first 8 to 8 months of this year through August, 530,000, the median value in 2024, 296 units sold. In 2025, the same time period, the first eight months, median value dropped from 530 to 505, a 4.7% drop. Units dropped from 296 to 284. So I need you, the viewer and listener, to understand what's going on. median values in the city of Charlestville from 2024 from January 1 through the end of August 530,000 for units sold from January 1 to the end of August in 2025 median value 505,000 a 4.7% drop so your key performance indicators that are your revenue generators for your city of Charlottesville budget tourism down 1% 2023 versus 2024 sales tax collection in the first

quarter of this year, down 2.53%. 2024 Q1 versus 2025 Q1. Median values of your homes, 530,000 through the first eight months of 2024, 505,000 through the first eight months of this year. You can all find this data publicly available, available anywhere you want. These are the drivers of the budget for Charlottesville and how it maintains its roads, the money it allocates to its schools, the allocations it can do. for celebrations like the 50-year anniversary

of the downtown mall, what it can pay its staff, what it can allocate to affordable housing to nonprofits, how it runs its budget. Its budget's just under $300 million, the yearly budget for the city of Charlottesville. So what does this mean for you, Judah? What does this mean for me? What does this mean for you, you, you, you,

Sally, and Christoph in the back? well the city's going to have to either cut line items out of its budget Charlestville does not do that it doesn't cut or it's going to have to figure out a way to generate incremental revenue and if assessments are down because assessments are tied to values and close units and what those units sold for if assessments are down assessments aren't going to be a driver of incremental tax collection because they're not going up, that the lever they have is meals tax, lodging tax, sales tax, real estate tax. Somebody watching Real Talk with Keith Smith this morning, connected guy, super connected guy,

city hall type of guy, that kind of connection, sent me this text this morning. I'm not going to utilize his name, super connected guy, a guy who's got a little gamble to him. he says what is the over under on the increase in the real estate tax rate for the city next year I'm going to put the over under benchmark at 2.5 cents city revenues are down and boy oh boy do they have obligations to pay so what happens if the city should I take the over on that what happens if the city raises the real estate tax rate by three cents what's that going to do to city values

what's that going to do to the economy? What's that going to do to home values? If they raise the real estate tax rate to make up for this deficit, what's that going to do the economy? What's that going to do to low-income families? What's that going to do the people that are on the margin? What's that going to do to the people that are middle-class people

that can't afford food? What was the stat you did the other day? It was over 50% for Charlottesville. I'll see if I can find it. Food and security? Mm-hmm. City of Charlottesville. What's that going to do?

Here we go. Rising food costs are putting nearly half, 45% of Virginians into debt, and the challenge is even more pronounced in the Charlottesville area. The survey finds for families with kids in school, that percentage rises to 52%.

Numbers show Charlottesville with the third highest cost, of a meal in the Commonwealth. And I can go on if you want, but there are other stats. When do we have the wake-up call where it's enough already? When do we have the wake-up call

and say maybe we shouldn't be allocating $1.2 million to an elevated glorified janitorial crew out of Kentucky to clean the downtown mall? When do we have the way? wake-up call on the housing ordinance, on the homeless ordinance, the camping ordinance. When do we have the wake-up call that governance shouldn't be through a lens of socialism and activism, but instead should be through a lens of practicality and a dose of reality?

When do we have a wake-up call where those are on the dais realize they don't need to cowtow to 200 and some activists in our community, 240 houseless in our community, and are instead responsible for the 45 or 46,000 residents in this community that are begging and screaming, that are imploring, that are on bended knee, Brian Adams style, asking for help. Mike Payne shows a little bit of common sense Judah Wickhauer He definitely does I really appreciate that in him

I don't always agree with what he what he has to say I wasn't real thrilled with his performance at the last city hall meeting city council meeting Where his commentary with the police chief came across disingenuous, when he's asking Chief Cottius while he's presenting the shelter

and camping ordinance to counsel, asking him questions as if it was Chief Cottius that came up with the ordinance, not the true reality of... As if he hadn't been hearing about it since April, the question's definitely sounded like this was the first time someone had ever brought it up in his presence. Which, to be fair, it could be true. I'm just saying

We know that there were what 221's going on But we don't have 221's the chief meeting with counselors I know I'm just saying I don't have any direct evidence That Michael Payne was in one of those

It's doubtful that he wasn't But How of a benefit of the doubt Let's not Let's not Spout facts that we that aren't facts. Okay.

But Chief Kahn just said in that meeting, I met with all you counselors. That being, okay, that's fair. That being said, and besides the point, I appreciate what I'm reading here about his response to the, what, block by block, Kentucky. The janitorial crew from Kentucky that's getting $1,200,000 of taxpayer resources. The same thing we've been saying for the last two days, what are you doing? What are you doing? Keep it local.

Generate the economy. There's an individual in Charlottesville City that deserves more attention and heat than right now just about anyone. And it's the Director of Economic Development, Chris Engle. That man should be in a, the hottest of chairs. hotter than Tony Elliot's, Chris Engel. Almore County is eating the lunch

economic development when compared to Charlottesville City. And I bet that's going to, I bet that'll change not for the better in Charlottesville's favor once Home Depot has fully

taken hold. I know it's, I know they've had their, their opening. But once that becomes, you know, a part of the landscape, that's going to, I believe, generate a lot as well. 100%. And if they can, if they can fill the old red lobster spot, you know, start bringing more business to that, to what's left of the mall. 100%. Viewers and listeners, let us know your thoughts. Relay your comments live on air. I'll mention them on the water cooler of content and conversation

in Charles Ful and Central Virginia of the I Love Cable Show. Houston, we have a problem. Houston, we have a problem. And for those that are activists locally, that your activism is rooted in housing affordability or in equity,

or your activism is rooted in pedestrian and bicycle safety, there's a story that's out there today that city manager Sam Sanders faced a death threat. It wasn't quite a death threat, but it was I'll set the stage.

For you to downplay this is disappointing. Someone called Sam Sanders left him a voice message. I believe this person from Arkansas? Yes. Left Sam Sanders a voice

message, the city manager, about how he handled Kevin about arresting Kevin Cox. Kevin Cox and the pedestrian crosswalk that he chalked on a city road.

And he basically told Sam Sanders to off himself. And a voice message. Sam Sanders has released that voice message to the police department. They're investigating the threat. This moron that left the

voicemail left his phone number on the voice message, not his name, but his phone number. I believe they tracked it to AT&T, the phone carrier, and now they're subpoena in investigating AT&T to figure out who this guy is. Meanwhile, somebody actually just got on the phone and called the number and talked to the guy. Right. This is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Yeah. Free speech has consequences.

Free speech has consequences. You can't call from Arkansas and threaten the life of a city manager in Charlottesville, Virginia, and skate free without consequences. You can't at the University of Virginia do jumping jacks and celebrate the murder of Charlie Kirk without having consequences. And to Charlie Kirk's point, some of the stuff he said attracts detention. and that attention has consequences as well. I'm not sure I like the territory you're getting into. Okay.

Topic for a different show. Consequences. Even Natalie Ostrachan, who I think is the least institutionally savvy of any of the counselors is saying on the dais and on the record that we have a revenue problem in the city. And that revenue problem impacts everyone. It's going to impact tenants when real estate taxes are increased.

It's passed down to them. Homeowners, business owners. It's going to impact housing affordability. It's going to impact bicycle safety, pedestrian safety, it's going to impact any of the line items where the city is spending money upon or allocating two, all of them will be impacted. Houston, we have a problem. The Q2 sales tax report released next week by the Chamber of Commerce.

We will follow it very closely. Anything else you'd like to add on this topic? And then we'll get to some comments, ladies and gentlemen, on today's talk show. Judah Wickhauer, you have the floor, my friend. I don't know that there's a whole lot that I have to say, though I did recently read that Virginia schools in general are having an issue where a lot of people thought that the homeschooled, the children that have left the public schools to be homeschooled in the last year or two would eventually come back. But they're not. But they're not. Yeah.

And that's going to affect how much money goes to city of schools. Because the state contributes based on enrollment. The state contributes based on enrollment. Private school enrollment is upticking. Welding Cooper has indicated that public school enrollment locally will drop. The Commonwealth contributes financially to public schools based on headcount. Schools are going to face a budget deficit. and the jurisdiction that contributes its funding, primarily, the city, is also facing a deficit.

Next topic on the show. What do you got you to Wiccaro? Chamber of Commerce Q2 Retail. Is that just... We talked that. Paying opposed to the Kentucky cleanup crew. Talk that. William and Merleman.

Mary then. Saturday, who shows up for this football game? Wee and Mary, non-descript opponent. Virginia loses to NC State. It's a 12 o'clock kickoff. It's an at-conference game. How many people show up to this 60,000-plus seat stadium? And when we talk tourism down and sales tax collection down and meals tax down and lodging tax down, and we talk the head. headwinds of the houseless, perceived safety, and business districts in the city, we should also

include the fact that this football team over the last three years has the least amount of victories in all of power football and is struggling to fill Scott Stadium for seven critical home football games a year. That's a part of this as well. Tourism dollars. This is very much a part of it. Compound that the struggles of basketball over the last few years. This is very much a part of it. Programming notes. We'll give first the Vermilions, John and Andrew Vermilion,

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Ladies and gentlemen, the Vermilions are honest, met of integrity, of communication, of knowledge, a mechanic on site to fix your pool robot and your vacuums. Charlottesville Sanitary Supply 61 years in business. Some of the best of the best. The programming note, next week, vacation. Judah, his family, Outer Banks, my family, R&R. back in the saddle a week from Monday.

We close with this. I pray for hope and patience and kindness and empathy for our country. That we embody these qualities and not the count. cold, chilly temperament, birth from doom scrolling social media. The desensitized movement that's happening in our society because we're seeing content or reading content online that is divisive or depressing. Still very proud to be an American.

to be an American, some days more so than others. Judah Wickhauer, Jerry Mellon, the I Love Seville Show so long. Thank you.