The Virginian-Pilot
©
VIRGINIA BEACH
Mayor Will Sessoms and Councilwoman Barbara Henley have a plan to balance the budget without raising taxes, a sign that the proposed 3-cent real estate tax increase is dead.
Last week, a majority of the 11 council members, many of whom are running for re-election in November, panned a plan by City Manager Jim Spore that would raise the tax rate to 92 cents per $100 of assessed value. Sessoms was one of the few who had been open to it. Henley, who is up for re-election, had said she was undecided.
"We heard very clearly that seven people weren't going to raise real estate taxes," Sessoms said when they presented their proposal Tuesday. He called their recommendations a short-term fix.
The pair's proposal incorporates ideas floated by colleagues but also attempts to pre-empt deeper cuts that some council members want to make.
Without the 3-cent real estate tax increase or the 10-cent personal property tax hike that Spore recommended, city leaders need to come up with $16.8 million to balance next year's budget.
Among the duo's suggestions:
- Dip into year-end budget savings and the financial cushions built into the agricultural reserve and recreation center funds for $10.2 million;
- Defer for a year the modernization of the Kempsville and Bow Creek recreation centers, various site acquisitions and the relocation of the parks and recreation administration office for a savings of $5.1 million;
- Use half of the 4-cent cigarette tax increase proposed in next year's budget to balance the city's books instead of funding economic development grants. That, among other things, would give the city $1.5 million.
"I think we need to start talking about how we need to make adjustments," Henley said.
Other council members called the proposals helpful, but said they will only get the city through next year's budget, which begins July 1 and ends June 30, 2011. More cuts and changes may still be necessary to ensure that the city doesn't face a similar shortfall again, Councilman Glenn Davis said.
In Spore's $1.8 billion budget plan, he included cuts to library hours, reductions in mowing services, the elimination of 200 positions, half of which are vacant, and delays to construction and road projects, along with the tax increases.
Under the proposed real estate tax increase, the owner of a $290,500 home would pay $79 less in taxes, based on the average dip in home values.
The City Council will meet on Thursday at City Hall starting at 3 p.m. for its next budget discussion.
Deirdre Fernandes, (757) 222-5121, deirdre.fernandes@pilotonline.com
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its hard not to be cynical when the city uses essential services
as an unconscionable means to seek tax & relentless fee hikes. The City retains hundreds of positions that are literally funded but unfilled each year. Fact is these massive tax dollars are used as slush funds. Regretfully, there was never any attempt by the City to fill these positions and they account for tens of millions of surplus dollars. When the City cut positions most will be unfilled to begin with. Household income has seriously eroded. Families need every dime just to handle to the monumental elevated maintenance costs, particularly, since our housing stock is averaging 25 years of age. It is not unusual for a household to replace roofing, or costly HVAC systems, or upgra de rooms and kitchens, or spend many thousands of dollars for new siding and expensive new flooring when homes age. In the mean time, millions are diverted to special interest and the sacrificial lamb continues to be the residential community as well as the City's 30,000 small business. The residential community serves the City's primary economic engine with very little ROI. Our tax clobbered residents deserve better treatment. Much better!
Expansion of government
Wow, now the old men of the VBTA who can't get up on their ladder want the public sector to take on the responsibility for maintaining their homes. These dinosaurs are unbelievable; first they complain about government being too prevasive, then they want gocvernment to take care of their homes. Yeah, join the VBTA, make your taxes go up. If I did not read this with my own eyes, I would not beleive it.
Mike, No comments or discussion on how the City maintains
its arsenal of Slush Funds? Thats when you maintain a slew of unfilled positions so you can fund them w/o any intent of ever filling them. But that's been your pals game for years. I don't recall uttering a single word that suggested that the public sector should take on the responsibility of funding homes. Anyone reading your comments will surely know how manipulative you are.. It is bad enough that you and your favorite City administrator have advocated that special interest continue to be subsidized with citywide tax revenues. Yup, a monumental 36.4% of ALL food tax revenues and 100% of ALL amusement tax revenues and a staggering 75% of ALL room tax revenues are diverted to the resort area each instead of remaining in the General Fund. Last year that translated to about $42 million alone. You might even recall that other massive subsidies are going on cross town. Of course you are an anti tax advocate because you continue to push for handouts of all projects that have little public benefit & have little to do with the residential or small business community and clearly the aging 978 neighborhoods... Incidentally, I do hope the senior employee's you work for get a chanc
Actually Mike
A $.03 cents REDUCTION is more in order.
Have our say
As a citizen, I appreciate different perspectives on the budget, but for me, I hope members do not take a position that cannot be influenced by public opinion. That is, to say at this point what you would do, before the public has had the opportunity to understand the effect of the $80,300,000 in cuts made in the city manager's budget and testify at the meetings, cuts the very citizens who have opinions on taxes and city services, out of the process. The effects of the cuts made already are severe and will effect all of us. If more cuts must be made, programs and service cuts may be more that we want, and since most of us will pay less real estate tax, sales tax, and income tax this year, a $0.03 increase in the real estate tax may be the preferred action. But let us have our say!
EMS billing. Educate yourself!
It is clear some have an agenda against EMS revenue recovery and are using scare tactics and false or misleading information to discourage it. So please dont believe me...instead educate yourselves and draw your own conclusions.
In 2004 the state funded a study on EMS revenue recovery. This is the conclusion of this " JLARC " study
" Emergency Medical Services agencies should actively consider billing patients health insurance policies for the services and transportation provided. The Office of Emergency Medical Services should help develop materials that agencies can use to help educate the public about the reasons and benefits for billing, as well as to dispel misconceptions "
http://jlarc.state.va.us/reports/rpt312.pdf
http://www.vdh.state.va.us/OEMS/Files_page/Retention/FundingYourFuture.pdf
Councilman DeSteph has a better budget plan
Obviously Will and Barbara can see the political writing on the wall and realize that if they continue the usual support for tax increases and more spending/debt they will no longer have that seat they sit in on City Council. Will and his "friends" in the business lobby spent over $600,000 to buy the mayor's seat (only getting 39% of the vote for their money - but enough in a 4 way race). We have to wonder if the folks that paid so much for their control of the Mayor's seat are pressuring Will so they don't lose the retrun on their investment? There is that HUGE MATTER of a very expensive Light Rail train and promised TOD (Transit Oriented Development) that must be protected at all costs, right? (Nod-wink). It is so comical to watch the pitiful play acting from the Will & Barbara show; not to mention the rest of the incumbant tax/borrow & spenders on the VB City Council. TEA Party on my fellow Beach voters! VBTA for City Council in November (if only they were on the ballot!)
Fire and Water and Bandages
A taste of how much essential services are beloved and yet will probably uneffected by budget cuts because they are easily argued as 'essential'.
For those of you who continue to miss the point of the story and continue to argue EMS stats... congratulations, you have buried the lead.
Buried the Lead?
??? The article remains the same and your right to comment remains unchanged, so I do not know where your comming from. You can hate on city council for not raising taxes this year or you can say "thank you" to them and move on to the next complaint you have... I said "thank you but consider billing for ambulances." It is a free country!
Nothing here has buried the lead...
what a leader!
Our republican mayor finds that we have so much taxpayer money available that he can pay over four times appraised value for an unused right-of-way for an unapproved light rail system.
Now his second choice is to not raise taxes instead of his first choice which is to raise taxes.
You republicans really snuck one in on us.