The budget Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) proposed on Wednesday includes nearly $95 million in funding for the Norfolk Coastal Storm Risk Management Project, also known as the Norfolk Sea Wall, but tied $21 million of the funding to the completion of a long-delayed casino.
Youngkin’s budget includes $73.8 million for the project, a series of improvements that includes levees, storm surge barriers, pump stations, and other improvements to manage the flow of water during storms. However, the budget calls for an additional $21 million in funding that is “contingent upon the City applying revenues generated by a casino gaming establishment.”
Youngkin did not mention the additional $21 million during his Wednesday speech before the Virginia House of Delegates, nor did he include it in the press release summarizing his budget.
The budget is referencing the Headwaters Resort and Casino, reported WAVY. Observers initially suggested the Norfolk establishment could open in 2023 as Virginia’s first casino, an honor since taken by the Hard Rock Bristol Casino.
A disagreement between the Pamunkey Indian Tribe, which owns the land and was slated to open the casino in 2023, and the City of Norfolk intensified in July, when city leaders reportedly objected to the tribe’s plans to build the facility in two phases instead of constructing a temporary facility for the casino.
Meanwhile, Norfolk was granted almost $400 million by the Biden administration’s Build Back Better legislation to improve storm protections, but the city must find $215 million in matching funds for the federal money. Youngkin previously awarded the city nearly $25 million, and WAVY reported the city has dedicated $56.6 million in this year’s budget to the project. The outlet reported Mayor Kenny Alexander was unaware of the additional $21 million made available by Youngkin.
Youngkin pitched his budget before Virginia lawmakers this week, and included a roughly 12 percent cut to the state’s income tax rates. To offset the tax, Youngkin proposed increasing and modernizing the state’s sales tax, which Youngkin would increase 0.9 percent and include digital goods and transactions.
Among other high-profile expenditures, Youngkin included in his budget are $150 million in new funding for mental health services, $448 million to continue funding childcare and after-school programs, $500 million to address youth mental health in state schools and colleges, and $115 million for the commonwealth’s teacher retirement fund.
The governor said he was optimistic his budget would pass the Virginia General Assembly “with the full cooperation from Democrats and Republicans.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
