Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 14, 1994 TAG: 9412140102
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RICK LINDQUIST STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
"I'll throw out the number 3.5 percent," Councilman Bill Yerrick said Monday night, as City Council tried to agree on how much city spending can rise next year in the face of nearly flat revenue projections and an ominous silence on how much to expect from the state. Department heads will plug the number into next year's budget requests.
"I think we have to project growth and development to stay healthy," Yerrick said.
Mayor Tom Starnes had a lower number in mind. Much lower. Though Starnes wants to be able to give city workers "a reasonable increase in salary" next year, when pressed, he offered one-half percent.
Reacting to revenue projections she and her colleagues had just reviewed, Councilwoman Polly Corn suggested that zero was the only possible choice. "I could not, in all honesty, project an increase and then say I don't know where that's coming from," she said.
In the end, Yerrick's 3.5 percent didn't fly. Neither did his 1.5 percent counteroffer.
Vice Mayor Bob Nicholson - seeking consensus to avoid line-by-line budget wrangling within council down the road - finally offered Starnes' one-half percent suggestion, not including pay increases. The number approximately matches the finance director's projected revenue increase for 1995-96. All but Councilman David Worrell went along, but even Nicholson recognized the futility of the exercise. "One percent won't cover it. I don't think 3 percent will cover it," he said before the vote.
Using the lower figure would make it easier to adjust budget categories up or down later, said Starnes, who also worried about state revenue cuts. "I think you're going to see a whole slew of [cuts] coming down to localities," he said.
City Manager Bob Asbury said the city was "peering down the gun barrel now" in terms of state and federal cuts. "You can't dance around it," he told council. "You know what's going to happen."
Nicholson on Tuesday predicted "an extremely tough year" in trying to make ends meet without either cutting services the community has come to expect, or raising city taxes or user fees. "I don't see how we can maintain existing levels of service without additional revenues," he said, adding that council's choices are limited and broad cuts in state and federal revenues are expected.
Even though he believes city residents anticipate having to bite the bullet next year after council held the line again on taxes in 1994, "we just cannot go in with a 10-cent tax increase" without looking at the whole picture, Nicholson said. He also said the city sees school spending going up and wants to float a bond issue for major projects. The city's current budget is approximately $40 million.
Starnes was equally frank after Monday's meeting, saying he would be surprised if City Council could pull together an acceptable budget within revenue projections. "If I didn't have to go through the budget process each year, being on council wouldn't be a bad job," he quipped.
In other business Monday, City Council:
Asked Assistant City Manager Bob Lloyd to draft a resolution protesting Gov. George Allen's proposal to cut the Business, Professional and Occupational License tax localities levy on gross receipts. The city receives almost $300,000 a year from the tax.
Heard a presentation from representatives of Virginia Cooperative Extension to offer services to the city. Yerrick encouraged council to "seriously consider" budgeting for a part-time, hourly home horticulture professional to offer Master Gardener programs in the city.
Approved a school transportation agreement between the city and the School Board under which the school system would hire and train bus drivers and handle bus discipline, among other things. The School Board already has OK'd the contract.
by CNB