THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 30, 1995 TAG: 9504280222
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
At the end of the Suffolk City Council's budget workshop on Wednesday, the council's top priority, law and order, apparently won.
The council unofficially approved an increase of two new firefighting positions to the nine positions already slated in the budget. There was also talk of adding several new police officers to the city's rolls.
If approved, the 1995-96 operating budget would have the largest increase in firefighters since Suffolk County and Nansemond County merged in 1974.
The budget, which is now undergoing review by the public and the council, will be discussed again during a public hearing Wednesday, May 3.
The council added the two new positions after Fire Chief Mark Outlaw detailed how tight things are for his department after years of getting little or no new hires.
Three of the 11 new hires will go to the Holland Volunteer Fire Company, which Outlaw said is the city's next growth area and yet is continually short-handed despite an increase in the number of calls from the area.
``This is a fix,'' said City Manager Myles Standish. ``We're catching up.''
Vice Mayor Curtis Milteer urged the council to create some new positions in Whaleyville, his borough. But because fire calls from Whaleyville have not increased, Outlaw said there is no need.
``For me to tell you we need another person down there for 100 calls a year, that would be difficult,'' said Outlaw.
During the session, the council also discussed having rescue squads begin to charge fees for emergency calls. Suffolk is the only city in the region not to charge for emergency service calls.
Most on the council said that charging for such emergency responses could dissuade some citizens from unnecessarily calling for emergency help.
In other budget news:
About 34 positions that were requested by city departments were not funded in the operating budget.
The four new hires for the fleet management department were placed on hold as the city examines combining services with the Suffolk School District. The council said they were considering the creation of a General Services Department to handle the needs of both the city and the schools.
Vice Mayor Curtis Milteer called for belt-tightening and said a new position, a liaison between neighborhoods and the Suffolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority, was ``a waste of money.''
Said Milteer: ``I just think we need to focus more on public safety.''
Councilman Charles F. Brown agreed and went a step further, saying he would like to consider doing away with public housing in the city. He offered no answers as to how this could be done.
``I'm tired of seeing money go into a rat hole,'' said Brown. ``Public housing has not improved in the last 15 years. I'm going to ask the city to rethink public housing. Why continue to pour money down a hole and get no benefit from it.''
KEYWORDS: SUFFOLK CITY COUNCIL BUDGET by CNB