MARTINSVILE, Va. – Martinsville City Council members are one step closer to deciding if the city should revert to town status and be part of Henry County or not.
They have started discussing the updated reversion study.
The city contracted with a company last fall to do the study, a five-year financial forecast for the city.
Council members have had the study for a few months, but have been too busy working on the city's budget to discuss the study.
"It indicates that some changes have to be made and should the city choose not to revert, those changes would mean either increases in revenue, cuts in services (or) reductions in services," Martinsville City Manager Leon Towarnicki said. "It could be some form of consolidation of services, perhaps on a cooperative venture with the county."
A public hearing on the study is likely to happen sometime later this year.
"Once everybody is satisfied with the information they're seeing and they understand what's in those studies, council will consider some form of a public meeting, whether it's at a council meeting or a separate meeting," Towarnicki said.
Martinsville would be only the third city in state history to revert to a town.