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# For a second-straight meeting, Chesterfield officials have ideas, but no consensus, on how to use data center dollars
- URL: https://www.richmonder.org/for-a-second-straight-meeting-chesterfield-officials-have-ideas-but-no-consensus-on-how-to-use-data-center-dollars/
- Published: 2026-09-24T23:35:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-24T23:35:00.000Z
- Description: “Ultimately, though, what I am committed to is making sure that we give some relief to our citizens with that revenue.”
- Author: Eleanor Shaw
- Tags: Chesterfield County, #the-bridge

As Chesterfield’s Board of Supervisors again delayed a vote on using data center revenue to lower the car tax Wednesday, others lobbied for alternate uses for the money, including school maintenance and improving the county’s fire department.

The [original proposal](https://www.richmonder.org/chesterfield-proposes-using-data-center-revenue-to-lower-car-taxes/) — which will now be voted on Nov. 18 — claims the county’s current car tax rate of $3.25 per $100 of assessed value could be reduced to as low as $1.79 following a full build-out of three Google data center campuses.

One potential issue with allocating the money to immediate needs is that the data center money isn’t immediate — and in the eyes of Matoaca Supervisor Kevin Carroll, it may not arrive any time soon.

“Those data centers are not going to come out of the ground for a long time, because Dominion doesn’t have the energy to power them,” Carroll said Wednesday.

In response on Thursday, Dominion officials said that any new facilities [requiring power](https://www.richmonder.org/power-grid-auction-falls-short-of-meeting-2028-29-energy-needs-organizing-group-cites-data-centers/) must wait their turn to receive electricity, and their spot in line largely depends on how immediate their need is.

“This approach allows the company to connect data centers in Virginia responsibly without sacrificing reliability or growth for other customers,” a Dominion spokesperson wrote to The Richmonder. “Chesterfield County, like many localities, has some data center projects with target energization dates and others in the queue.”

Considering only one of Chesterfield’s three data center campuses has broken ground, it’ll likely be some time before they rise on the priority list.

### **School maintenance over car tax relief?**

Meanwhile, Chesterfield is also [weighing a 1% sales tax increase](https://www.richmonder.org/chesterfield-the-latest-locality-to-seek-1-sales-tax-increase-for-school-construction/) — all of which would be shuffled to the school division for construction and maintenance. CCPS said it needs $185 million to maintain its current facilities over the next decade, on top of constructing new schools to reduce overcrowding.

This has raised the question: Why can’t the county use data center dollars for school-related needs? [Chesterfield argues](https://www.chesterfield.gov/m/newsflash/home/detail/7553) this isn’t a practical solution because the campuses won’t come online for several years. The schools’ needs are immediate, and a sales tax increase allows the county to borrow against the $1 billion in revenue it expects the tax to generate over its 20-year lifetime.

That’s why the county originally favored the car tax reduction, because it would take effect gradually, as the data centers come online.

### **Other proposals**

So, what could data centers pay for? Each supervisor had a slightly different take.

“After speaking with the board, there’s one thing that we can all agree on, which is that we’re in process, and that process needs to be honored,” said Mark Miller, Midlothian’s supervisor and the board’s chair.

Earlier Wednesday, the county’s emergency services and fire department provided its annual update to the board and raised eyebrows over reported understaffing and overworking. 

Chesterfield usually has three firefighters per shift, but Fire Chief Loy Senter said the standard is four ([which is the case in Richmond City](https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Richmond-Fire-Department-Announces-Returns-to-Standard-Staffing-Model.html?soid=1141729857239&aid=ji-d5S0VU80)). On top of this, the county’s first responders usually work 56 hours a week plus overtime. But there’s a national push to reduce that time down to 42 hours — [Virginia Beach and Norfolk](https://www.wavy.com/news/local-news/virginia-beach/vb-city-council-approves-48-hour-work-week-for-city-firefighters/) recently cut their firefighters’ hours.

While jumping on the bandwagon would limit burnout and increase retention, Senter said Chesterfield would need to hire and train more people to make up the difference.

Carroll said the option to reduce the county’s car tax appealed to him because it applies to everyone who owns a vehicle. But he said the county is also staring down collective bargaining [as pressure mounts in neighboring localities](https://www.richmonder.org/school-board-votes-yes-on-changes-to-collective-bargaining-procedures/). 

During its Sept. 8 meeting, the county’s School Board public comment period included multiple representatives from the Chesterfield Education Association urging the county to prioritize negotiating with unions.

“We do know that even if we bargained entirely for changes in policy and procedure that did not affect pay, collective bargaining would still come with some cost,” association president Rob Hammel said.

“CEA would love any opportunity to partner with members of this body on lobbying for more funding from the general assembly or the Board of Supervisors.”

On Wednesday, the Dale District’s supervisor, LeQuan Hylton, nodded to affordable housing as a potential route — Henrico County [routed its data center tax money](https://henrico.gov/revit/affordable-housing-trust-fund/) into a fund that reduces the price of newly constructed homes. 

Clover Hill Supervisor Jessica Schneider mentioned using the funds to construct a homeless shelter (which Chesterfield doesn’t have). Reducing the car tax rate may more significantly impact those with multiple vehicles rather than “the ones that need it the most,” she added.

Other amenities that the supervisors mentioned included sidewalks, recreation centers, parks and libraries.

“Ultimately, though, what I am committed to is making sure that we give some relief to our citizens with that revenue,” Bermuda Supervisor Jim Ingle said.

*Contact Eleanor Shaw at* [*eshaw@richmonder.org*](mailto:eshaw@richmonder.org)*. She is a Report for America corps member. Dominion Energy is a sponsor of The Richmonder but was not allowed to influence or review this report.*