THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, April 28, 1995 TAG: 9504270118
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONI WHITT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
The City Council approved a 1995-96 operating budget on Tuesday, which included a real estate and cigarette tax increase and hiked fees for garbage collection, water and golf.
The increased fees for real estate taxes, water and garbage collection will cost an average homeowner an extra $60 a year.
Beginning in January, the admission to the Children's Museum also will increase by $1 per person from $3 to $4.
The council also cut costs where it could. The council voted 5-2 to close out the city's police and fire fighters retirement plan despite pressure from the police and firefighters unions to keep the system open for at least another year.
City Manager V. Wayne Orton recommended that the system be closed this year before the city begins hiring the 21 new officers approved in the budget. Johnna Whitaker, the city's chief financial officer, said the city won't save any money in the coming fiscal year but over three years it should save close to $250,000.
Officers' salaries will increase between $2,000 and $4,000 a year once a new pay-for-performance plan is adopted. Entry level officers now earn about $21,000.
Currently Portsmouth has one of the most lucrative police and fire retirement systems in the region. In Portsmouth officers can retire after 20 years at 70 percent of their last three year's salary, regardless of their age. They also get another $2,400 annual supplement until age 65.
Most other cities don't allow officers to retire with benefits until they are 50 to 55 years old, depending on the city. Most cities also pay 50 percent or less of the officers' salaries at retirement.
Lloyd Beazley, president of the firefighters union, was angry over the switch to the state retirement system.
Beazley said changes in the retirement plan should be delayed until the city's new pay plan ``unfolds'' and until new actuarial figures are available in August. He said the city's predictions that the cost of the city's plan will skyrocket over the next two years have not been confirmed by professional studies.
Whitaker said the system is becoming more expensive and predicts the cost of the city's system will skyrocket over the next two years. The state's retirement system has remained stable over the past 10 years.
The city had 400 applicants for the last jobs advertised by the fire department. Beazley said a survey showed that 64 percent said the local retirement system was an important factor in their decision to apply for a job in Portsmouth.
Beazley also has said that since the improvements to the city's retirement plan, they've had less officers leave the system on disability which he said is more expensive for the city.
The council also approved changes to hours for city workers and the way they are credited for vacation days. Until this month, when they began working a 40-hour work week, city employees had been working a 37.5 hour work week. They did not protest those changes.
The council decided to cut $1 million from the city's contribution to the school system. The school board never protested the decrease to its budget.
The council did include a $125,000 contribution to Tidewater Community College in its annual budget. The city signed a lease agreement with the school in January which obligates school to pay $132,000 a year to lease the former Famous building for its fine arts center in the downtown.
The city will also contribute $15,000 to the Child Abuse Center of Hampton Roads, which is a part of the Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters. MEMO: AT A GLANCE
Tax and Fee Increases
Real estate taxes: Up from $1.32 to $1.36 per $100 evaluation
Cigarette taxes: Up from 25 cents to 30 cents per pack of 20
Water rate: Up from $1.95 per 1,000 gallons to $2 per 1,000 gallons
Stormwater management fees: residential fee set at $3.50 per month
Garbage and refuse collections: Up from $11 to $13 per month for
residential
Rates at city golf courses: Approximately 50 cents a round at City
Park and $1 a round at Bide-A-Wee
Grave openings: For graves under four feet long, up from $165 to
$185; for graves over four feet long, up from $330 to $385
Children's Museum admission: up from $3 to $4
KEYWORDS: BUDGET PORTSMOUTH CITY COUNCIL by CNB