During last night’s Danville City Council meeting City Manager Ken Larking addressed some of the complaints of city fees increasing despite the city getting more money from the new casino. 

“If we decide as a city to provide certain services, then the fees and taxes associated with those services should pay for their themselves and we shouldn’t rely on something like a casino to supplant our responsibility to pay for the services that we provide to ourselves, because it goes against the philosophy of the reason why the casino was brought to our community,” said Larking. “It was brought to us help grow us out of the challenges that we experienced when we lost Dan River Mills and the tobacco industry declined.”

The council approved an ordinance last night amending and establishing the increase of certain fees that will go into effect on July 1. Some of the fees have to do with the Danville Fire Department.

The council also approved an ordinance amending the Fiscal Year 2023 budget appropriation ordinance by increasing revenues from Caesars Virginia, for the Schoolfield Master Plan for an appropriation in the amount of $360,000 and appropriating the same.

The council also approved special use permits for the construction of duplexes on Baldwin and Hughes Streets.