CITY OF CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA
                  CITY COUNCIL AGENDA



  Agenda Date:        October 17, 2022

  Action Required:    Adoption of ordinance (1 reading)

  Presenter:          Todd Divers, Commissioner of the Revenue

  Staff Contacts:      Lisa Robertson, City Attorney
                       Javier Gomez Jacome, Attorney

  Title:              To amend, re-ordain, and re-enact Chapter 30, Article 17 of the City Code
                      (Cigarette Tax) (1 reading)


Background
During the 2020 session of the General Assembly, Virginia counties were granted authority to levy
taxes on cigarettes beginning on July 1, 2021. Further legislation adopted by the General Assembly
that year declared that “it is the policy of the Commonwealth that, where practical, local cigarette
stamping and tax collection is encouraged to be accomplished through regional cigarette tax boards”.

Thereafter, discussions began among a number of neighboring localities to consider the role of a
possible regional cigarette tax board in Central Virginia, ways to share administrative costs, and a
timeline of activities required to establish a Central Virginia regional board in FY22. Those
discussions, facilitated by staff of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District, culminated in the creation
of the Blue Ridge Regional Cigarette Tax Board (BRCTB), which is responsible for the collection of
taxes on the sale of cigarettes and the subsequent distribution of those taxes to the member
municipalities. Charlottesville City Council voted to join that Regional Board on October 4, 2021 with
Commissioner of the Revenue, Todd Divers, serving as the City’s representative (#O-21-144).

Discussion
The City’s cigarette tax ordinance has not yet been updated to reflect the City’s membership in the
BRCTB. The ordinance herein proposed is modeled largely on the ordinance adopted by the
Northern Virginia Cigarette Tax Board’s member localities and has been promulgated to and adopted
by the BRCTB’s various other member localities. It reflects and clarifies the administrative
responsibilities and procedural obligations of all parties involved in the retail sale and distribution of
cigarettes in the City of Charlottesville under the purview of the BRCTB, including the Board and its
administrator(s).

The powers, procedures, and duties outlined in the proposed ordinance are in line with what would
be expected of such a framework. They are very similar to the powers, procedures, and duties
outlined for the administration of the City’s meals and transient occupancy taxes. As such, we
recommend that Council adopt the ordinance.
Alignment with City Council's Vision and Strategic Plan
N/A

Community Engagement
N/A

Budgetary Impact
None

Recommendation
Approval of the amended ordinance. It is requested that City Council waive the requirement for a
second reading of this ordinance, so that it may become effective immediately (a four-fifths vote is
required, as noted in "Section 3" of the attached proposed ordinance.

Suggested Motion: “I move the ORDINANCE to amend, re-ordain and re-enact Chapter 30,
Article 17 of the City Code (Cigarette Tax), to reflect the City's membership in the Blue Ridge
Cigarette Tax Board.”

Alternatives
None

Attachments
1.   Ordinance #O-21-144
2.   Proposed Cigarette Tax Ordinance