THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 2, 1994 TAG: 9412010179
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONI WHITT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
In its 1995 package to state representatives, the city is asking for more money and fewer mandates.
The City Council has urged local legislators to find money for the Children's Museum, the Pinner's Point Connector, law enforcement and the city's libraries during the General Assembly Session that begins next month.
In its package, the city indicates that unless the state kicks in more money for law enforcement, the city might have to disband its community policing program by 1996. The general assembly has proposed cutting funding for law enforcement by $4.2 million statewide in 1996.
That cut, along with the projected cost of the new sentencing and parole reforms, might mean Portsmouth will lose $286,000 in money for law enforcement.
``If the legislature fails to restore funding, the police department would lose the 5 to 8 police officers that comprise the community policing unit,'' Gwendolyn S. Davis, the city's legislative liaison, wrote in the proposal.
The council also has asked the state to designate $53 million to build the Pinner's Point connector - a 3,500-foot stretch of roadway that will connect the the West Norfolk Bridge with the Midtown Tunnel and the Martin Luther King Freeway. So far, nearly $60 million has been set aside for the project.
The connector has been designated as the region's top priority highway project.
As the city enters into the second phase of construction for the new Children's Museum, the council hopes the state will provide money to complete the project. The state has contributed more than $1 million for the first phase. The council estimates it will need another $2.1 million to complete the museum.
The council also asked that the General Assembly approve a proposal to $3.9 million in state aid to libraries, which would mean an additional $220,000 to Portsmouth.
The city's other requests in their legislative package were all for changes in the laws. The city has asked that the state study the cost of any mandates and the local government's ability to pay for those mandates.
The city also wants to give local courts more power in dealing with juveniles who are runaways, truants, or are disobedient to their parents.
The legislative proposals also requests that state law be amended so that cities with a population of 100,000 or more would be reimbursed for expenses related to convictions of anyone driving under the influence.
``Allowing the city to utilize such a tool would not only provide needed revenue to support law enforcement activities for a fiscally stressed city, but it would serve as a deterrent . . .'' Davis wrote.
The city also wants to make loitering illegal on any public or private property and to prohibit minors from being in public or private places without their parents after curfew.
The last two requests would give the city more control over private property. The city has asked to ban car covers, allowing it to restrict people from keeping inoperable vehicles on private or commercial property unless they are in a garage or shielded from public view.
The final request would allow the city to bulldoze dilapidated and abandoned buildings after giving owners reasonable notice and time to make repairs - but without the current requirement that the city must first file a suit in circuit court asking for the repairs. by CNB