THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 26, 1995 TAG: 9504260458
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALEX MARSHALL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 101 lines
The city staff has proposed raising the real estate tax rate by 2 cents to help pay for a renewed emphasis on improving neighborhoods and schools. The proposals were part of the 1995-1996 operating and capital budgets presented to the City Council on Tuesday night.
The budget includes a renovated Granby High School, new stadiums for Booker T. and Lake Taylor high schools and a speedier building code enforcement process.
In addition to the proposed increase in the real estate tax, charges would rise for trash disposal and wastewater treatment. The staff also has proposed doubling and tripling fines for parking violations.
The city proposes a $465 million operating budget and a $43.8 million capital improvement budget. The City Council will discuss the proposals over the next month.
With the budgets, the city sets its priorities for the coming year, both in the services it provides and the projects it builds. Residents or groups who have suggestions on or disagreements with these priorities should attend the public hearing scheduled for May 3 or contact a City Council member.
The city staff members say these 1995-96 budgets show a renewed emphasis on neighborhoods. With much of the major downtown projects, such as Nauticus or Waterside, completed or under way, the city has more resources to focus on neighborhoods. In addition, the political changes on the council, with the shift to a ward system, has placed a higher priority on neighborhood services and projects.
Spending on the city's police force would rise by 3.63 percent. The increase comes as the budgets of many city departments are shrinking, the city staff noted. In addition, seven additional police officers will be put onto the street by transferring them out of clerical jobs. Nonsworn personnel will take over these jobs.
The City Council has pushed code enforcement as an effective way to combat neighborhood deterioration. The staff has proposed adding eight positions to the Codes Administration and Environmental Health divisions. The new personnel, plus a change in procedures, should enable the department to do more of the targeted ``sweeps'' of neighborhoods, where a team of inspectors combs a neighborhood for a week to 10 days.
The staff estimates that under the proposed changes, all neighborhoods could receive code sweeps in one year.
The budget includes expanded hours of operation for the libraries and more recreation programs. The city's 12 libraries would each be open an average of about 45 hours a week instead of about 40 hours a week. In the recreation department, the boxing program and other activities for youths at city recreation facilities would be expanded. The budget for recreation programming would rise by $203,000.
The 2-cent real estate tax increase would be the first in five years. Staff members say it was proposed to help pay for neighborhood and school capital improvements. With the real estate and fee increases, the city estimates that a family with a home assessed at $81,000, the city's average, would pay about $3.70 more a month.
The charges residents pay for trash pickup would rise from $6.17 a month to $8.10 a month. Rates for businesses would rise as well. The city says it is passing along a 42 percent rise in the tipping fees charged by the Southeastern Public Service Authority.
Charges for sewer service to residents would rise from a base rate of $1.22 to a rate of $1.28 for a set volume of sewage produced. The average homeowner would pay 44 cents more a month. In addition, the staff has proposed gradually phasing out the discount larger users receive so that eventually everyone would pay the same per unit of wastewater produced. This should encourage both businesses and homeowners to conserve, the staff said.
Fines for more than 20 different parking violations would increase dramatically. Overtime parking at a meter, for example, would jump from $10 to $25. Parking in a handicapped zone would rise from $50 to $100.
The projected additional revenue, almost a million more dollars a year, would pay the debt on revenue bonds the city hopes to sell this year. These bonds would build the parking garages for the proposed MacArthur Center mall and fund improvements on existing city garages.
The city's capital improvement budget includes the $22 million renovation of Granby High School and 2,000-seat stadiums for Lake Taylor and Booker T. high schools. Now, only Norview High School has a football stadium.
The proposed budget would also allocate money for design renovations for Bayview and Taylor elementary schools and repairs to Blair Middle School. More schools would receive air conditioning.
The capital budget includes $6.5 million for improvements in neighborhoods throughout the city and $1.5 million for neighborhood commercial improvements.
The budget calls for 500 additional street lights in the next year and the repaving of 83 miles of city streets.
It also includes $1 million in matching funds for the renovation of the Virginia Zoo and $704,000 in matching funds for the Botanical Gardens. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
Norfolk's Budget
[Dates concerning Norfolk's budget.] [April 25, budget proposed]
[May 23, budget approved]
For complete list of dates, see microfilm.
KEYWORDS: NORFOLK CITY COUNCIL BUDGET PROPOSED REAL ESTATE TAX
WATER BILL by CNB