THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 17, 1996 TAG: 9603180186
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KATRICE FRANKLIN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines
The Suffolk City Council has set a public hearing at 7 p.m. March 20 in council chambers on the proposed capital improvements budget. Residents must be present to speak during the public hearing. Each speaker will be allocated five minutes.
Suffolk readers can find more on the building plan in today's Sun.
City officials are proposing to spend more than five times what they did two years ago on construction and investment, and are making a huge increase over last year's capital budget as well.
The numbers tell the Suffolk story: Development is on the way, and city officials are scrambling to catch up with past growth and prepare for the future.
City officials are projecting 1,000 new homes a year until 2005, a 1995 report by the Planning Department says. And school officials are planning to build three new elementary schools, a fourth middle school and a third high school by 2003.
The 1996-97 capital improvements budget, a blueprint for Suffolk's construction and investment plans, totals $40,379,000. A large chunk of that is a one-time expense to build the new court complex downtown.
The budget is a 242-percent increase from last year's $11.8 million in capital spending.
Two years ago, the city spent just $7.8 million on long-term projects.
The proposed budget, which will be the subject of a public hearing Wednesday doesn't call for tax increases. Capital spending will be funded through city-backed and revenue bonds.
This year, city officials have divided their capital budget into two parts: general fund and utility spending.
The general fund includes money for public works, public buildings and facilities, parks and recreation, public safety and public schools.
The utility fund covers sewer and water projects.
The general fund budget totals $25.5 million. The court complex will consume $11.2 million of that.
About $11.3 million will be spent next year on schools, including $4.8 million for an addition and renovation to Oakland Elementary School in Chuckatuck and another $4.8 million to add air conditioning and heating in ten schools.
Also included is about $600,000 for repairs and maintenance to parks and recreational facilities.
The city has also decided to borrow money only every two years for utility projects, rather than annually.
Finance Director M. Christine Ledford said that by going to the market less frequently, the city should be able to get a better interest rate.
Even though the city is borrowing for two years, it is still setting aside more money than ever for utility projects. Ten million is being proposed for water improvements and $4.7 million to extend sewer and water lines in neighborhoods and to upgrade the sewer system.
Last year, the city spent just $1.8 million on utilities. Two years ago, it allocated $750,000 for water and nearly $2 million for sewerage.
The projects and money in the city's budget reflect the city's fast growth rate and its efforts to manage the development that is coming, city officials said.
The city has seen a steady climb in residential building permits during the last three years, and is also trying to play catch-up on projects that have gone unfunded.
``We're funding a lot of things including the courthouse, which is a once in a century issue,'' City Manager Myles E. Standish said. ``Our planning has improved, and we're preparing for development and taking care of some capital issues past due. A lot of the projects are being proposed because Suffolk is a dynamic community that is changing.''
Other projects proposed in the capital improvement budget include:
Spending $250,000 to move the Chuckatuck Volunteer Fire Department to a new station on Kings Highway.
A million dollars to move fire station No. 2 on Walnut Street to Adams Street near Booker T. Washington Elementary School.
A million dollars to replace roofs in several schools.
About $8.5 million to add a new water source in northeast Suffolk that will increase the city's water capacity by two million gallons a day.
The council will not vote on the capital budget until April 3. ILLUSTRATION: Graphics
SUFFOLK'S CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BUDGET
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
HEARING WEDNESDAY
The Suffolk City Council has set a public hearing for 7 p.m.
Wednesday in council chambers on the proposed capital improvements
budget. Residents must be present to speak during the public
hearing. Each speaker will be allocated five minutes. The council
will vote on the budget April 3.
KEYWORDS: SUFFOLK CITY BUDGET by CNB