THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 7, 1996 TAG: 9604060101
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
SOURCE: Kevin Armstrong
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
If you were to add up all your household expenses and divide them into several categories, where would the largest shares fall?
If, like me, you're struggling to cover that mortgage payment each month, most of your money probably is spent keeping a roof overhead. Transportation, depending on how you fancy your wheels, might fall second.
The size of your family plays a big part in the rest. Keeping five mouths fed (plus a dog and several hamsters) eats up a sizable share of my earnings.
It all adds up to an interesting self-portrait. It's an indication of your priorities. The same holds true for the city.
City Manager Jim Spore unveiled next year's spending plan at last Tuesday's City Council meeting. It says we'll need $898 million to keep this city operating. That's 6.44 percent more than we're spending this year, which (in budget terms) ends June 30.
Of that amount, 51.2 percent will be spent on school operations. About 40 percent will fund city operations, and almost 9 percent will pay for utilities.
That's one measure of City Hall's priorities.
Spore and his staff have developed another, based on grouping the major types of services provided by the city and dividing up the $898 million in each category. Here's how those percentages break down:
Quality education for lifelong learning - 49.2 percent.
Quality physical environment - 25.7 percent.
Safe Community - 12 percent.
Strengthening families - 5.8 percent.
Cultural and recreational opportunities - 3.8 percent.
Economic Vitality - 3.4 percent.
That means the city's top priorities are providing its citizens with quality education, a well-built infrastructure and safety.
While the numbers aren't as scientific as the budget itself, they do reveal where we're investing most of our tax dollars.
The question then is how does that match up with your expectations? Does it reflect what you want from your local government?
Think back to your personal finances. If transportation is your second biggest expense, then enjoy what you're driving or find a cheaper mode. Or, find a way to increase your income so you can keep that car and buy better clothes and fancier food.
From a citizen's standpoint, the proposed budget will generate great debate over the next few weeks about how much we're spending on schools. The numbers show we're spending quite a bit, but is it enough?
School supporters like to throw out a different measure - per pupil spending. We spend less per child on education than any other city in Hampton Roads. It averages $4,531 in Virginia Beach, compared to $4,872 in Chesapeake and $5,848 in Norfolk.
How happy are you with your child's or grandchild's education? Should we spend more, and if so, would that child be better off?
Our elected leaders will play their annual game of tug-of-war this month and next. It's time citizens stepped in and threw their weight to one side or the other.
If school officials need more money, then show us what we'll get in return. Educators should spend the next 10 months drafting a plan that can be put to a citizens' vote, not a council one. If they think raising the real estate tax rate by 10 cents in 1997-98 will guarantee us a better school system, then let's hear how. City officials shouldn't stand in their way.
We sometimes forget that this $898 million is our money.
City and school leaders can argue all they want about what the voters think.
It's past time we found out. by CNB