THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 24, 1996 TAG: 9604240396
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALEX MARSHALL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 119 lines
It's going to cost more to flush a toilet, get a drink of water and recycle your bottles and newspapers. That's the bad news in the proposed $488 million budget presented to the City Council Tuesday night.
The average homeowner would pay $2.21 a month extra because of increases in the water and wastewater rates, a new recycling fee, and an increase in the stormwater management fee.
The budget also raises council salaries. If approved, the mayor would make $27,000 annually, a council member $25,000.
The good news is that the budget increases funding for a variety of neighborhood programs and services without a real-estate or property tax increase.
The city gives the schools $200.5 million, essentially fully funding the School Board's requested budget. That represents a $12 million increase over last year, most of it from additional state aid.
The libraries, after years of cuts and flat budgets, get a 10 percent increase in operating funds, or $366,000. The additional money will buy more books, open some libraries on Sundays and increase childrens' services.
Spending for neighborhood services continues to increase, including money for sidewalk and street repair, new lighting and code enforcement. The Fairlawn recreation center will get a $1.7 million expansion, and staffing at other recreation centers is being expanded.
The average city employee will get a 3.2 percent pay increase, which is about what teachers are receiving.
The budget will put 27 more police officers on the street, an increase mostly due to matching funds provided by the federal crime bill.
The city's $31 million capital budget, which is passed with the operating budget, proposes taking on another long-term debt, one which city officials say would strain the city's finances in future years.
The budget proposes spending $24 million over the next six years on the redevelopment of East Ocean View.
The redevelopment project, if approved would be the first time the city has undertaken an urban renewal project without federal money or significant private funding. The intention is that the city money will draw private support in later years to cover the total cost of the project, an estimated $60 million to $74 million.
City staff have estimated that the project, if successful, would not pay for itself through new tax revenues until 2023. It represents a significant long-term commitment by the city, say city staff members.
The project, which has already begun with money approved in earlier budgets, involves buying 90-acres of land, tearing down the existing neighborhood of some 1,500 homes, putting in new streets and rebuilding a new, more upscale neighborhood of 600 homes. The original funding plan, not successful, relied on funding from private banks.
To keep the debt spending at 10-percent of the annual operating budget, the staff has cut other city projects over the next five years. Budget officers would not detail Tuesday what projects were cut or scaled back.
The city's total capital budget this year is $31 million. Next year and in the near future, this would have to drop to about $19 million a year to avoid causing debt levels to rise to dangerous levels, say budget officials. This would limit future city council options.
The capital budget also includes money for a variety of neighborhood improvements, including the $1.7 million Fairlawn Recreation Center addition, $500,000 in various neighborhood commercial districts, and $600,000 for renovations in the Ghent commercial area.
The fee increases break down to several categories.
In trash disposal charges, homeowners will pay $8.60 a month instead of $8.10 because of a 50-cent fee for recycling. This is half of the $1-per-household fee that the Southeastern Public Service Authority is expected to impose on all Hampton Roads cities, say city staff. The money would help the authority avoid a deficit.
The Ocean View special collection area, which cost some apartment buildings $2.89 a month, is being eliminated. The city will also compete with private haulers for trash pickup at apartment buildings, offering the service for the first time for $14 a month per unit.
For water rates, the fee per 1,000 gallons would be $2.84 per month instead of $2.74. In 1998, it would rise to $2.94.
For stormwater management, which is a tax based on the amount of parking, pavement or other ``impervious surface'' a home or business has, the rate would increase for the average homeowner by about 48 cents. Additional increases are scheduled over the next three years.
Also in the budget:
After a concentrated lobbying campaign by police and firefighters, the city has offered a more generous retirement package to public safety employees. The change would allow a police officer, for example, to retire after 25 years of service with 55 percent of salary. Now, it could take up to 32 years of service to reach that percentage of salary.
The city is also offering an early retirement package - a one-time cash payment of 40 percent of their current salary - to all employees eligible to retire.
The city will increase its funding of Tidewater Regional Transit by $600,000 to a total of $3.5 million annually. The increase is to make up for cuts in federal funding of mass transit by Congress.
In other business Tuesday night, the council heard from a coalition of residents from the Berkley section of Norfolk, who were lobbying for more police protection in the wake of the shooting death of 3-year-old Taylor Ricks. MEMO: The city will hold a presentation on this year's budget tonight at 7
p.m. in council chambers. The public is invited to attend and ask
questions. A formal public hearing will be held 7 p.m. May 7 at Scope.
KEYWORDS: NORFOLK BUDGET WATER FEES by CNB