THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 7, 1995 TAG: 9505050236
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANCIE LATOUR, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
The City Council has begun to face the most difficult part of public budgeting: hearing various groups make their case for funding and making hard choices about who gets the money.
City officials met with members of the Mosquito Control Commission and the commissioner of the revenue on Tuesday to discuss the $402 million proposed plan to balance income and spending for the city's day-to-day needs.
The commission spoke out against a half-cent tax cut proposed by City Manager James W. Rein; Commissioner of the Revenue Ray A. Conner came to ask the city to raise the cap on tax breaks for the poor and the elderly.
City Manager James W. Rein has proposed reducing the mosquito control tax by a half-cent. Because 97 percent of Chesapeake falls in districts that need mosquito control, most residents in the city would pay $1.29 instead of $1.29.5 per $100 of assessed value.
That translates into a $5 savings for the owner of a house worth $100,000.
Rein argued the service would not suffer since the five mosquito control commissions in the Deep Creek, Great Bridge, South Norfolk, Washington and Western Branch boroughs have accumulated more than $2 million in surplus funds.
Several council members see the reduction as an opportunity to save taxpayers money without hurting services.
But Douglas W. McClain, a mosquito commissioner in Great Bridge, warned that the surplus needed to be protected to prevent problems in rainy years when costs go up.
Mosquito control includes spraying neighborhoods throughout the spring and summer and ballfields before games, and shredding tree limbs to save the city the cost of transporting them to a landfill.
Even though the commissions have favorable balances now, McClain said: ``We never know what kind of mosquito season we're going to have. That's why we need the reserves.''
Councilman John W. Butt, a council liaison to the Mosquito Control Commission, echoed McClain's caution.
``Mosquito Control needs reserves for the same reason council needs reserves,'' Butt said. ``We shouldn't just yank these reserves, because we don't know if a terrible rainy season comes, and we need that money.''
Butt said part of the problem lies in the fact that few council members understand how the commission works.
``They rely on those taxes to pay for their own building, their own utilities, and all the chemicals they need to spray,'' Butt said. ``And they get special training to know how to use the chemicals safely.''
Mayor William E. Ward praised the commission for its service to the city but said, ``Our responsibility on council is to look for ways to look at savings and, wherever possible, to return as much of those savings to citizens.''
Ward asked to meet again with the commission.
Some council members gave a similar cost-savings message to Conner. The office of the commissioner of the revenue is responsible for coordinating the city's real estate tax-relief program.
Conner recommended that the council raise the eligible income level from $27,000 to $29,000. Those under age 65 who earn more than $29,000, and those who are not disabled, would not be eligible for the exemptions on their property tax.
Since the program to help elderly residents began in 1972, Conner said Tuesday, it has grown into one of the most generous, not only in Hampton Roads, but in the state.
``We're the exception to the rule,'' Conner said. ``We want to help those who need help. Often senior citizens are hit the hardest by assessment increases in their homes, because they are on a fixed income.''
The city saved 1,614 disabled and elderly homeowners more than $1 million in taxes last year.
Any changes in the income level would not affect senior citizens until the 1996-97 budget year.
Councilman Alan P. Krasnoff offered the option of freezing assessment values on homes owned by senior citizens after they reach age 65.
``When you think of those 65 and older,'' Krasnoff said, ``they don't add to school costs at all. They don't have three and four cars on the road. They really don't add to infrastructure needs in the city.''
But other council members warned against putting seniors over other low-income residents.
``How many people out there are making less than $28,000, have three kids they're trying to get to college and car payments?'' Butt asked. ``There's the poor guy on the other end paying bills and taxes, and we're not doing anything special to help those people.'' by CNB