THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 27, 1996 TAG: 9604270340
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN WEINTRAUB, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines
In an informal poll completed Friday morning, the City Council decided to hold real-estate tax rate increases to 3.2 cents, instead of the larger increases needed to cover all school requests.
Schools Superintendent Timothy R. Jenney had asked the council Tuesday to consider raising the tax rate by as much as 12 cents to meet the needs of the school system.
The council said then that it wanted to hear from people who felt the school system deserved more - and from those who didn't.
By Thursday, the council had heard enough. Although called by only a handful of angry taxpayers, council members said they were unwilling to ask citizens to pay so much more.
Council member John A. Baum said he doesn't think the public trusts the school system enough - in light of last year's financial problems - to be willing to fund a 12-cent tax increase.
``I feel like the school system, maybe the whole city is on probation for a year,'' Baum said. ``This'll be the best we can do this year, and possibly we can put it in a referendum for next year.''
City and school officials say next year's proposed budget - compiled by staff members other than those who worked on the two previous budgets - is fiscally responsible. The school district ended the last school year with a $12.1 million deficit and underfunded or forgot to budget another $22.8 million in expenses this year.
City Manager James K. Spore has proposed a budget for the city that would provide $385 million to the schools and would call for the 3.2-cent tax rate increase. He said his budget would cover the $22.8 million in extra expenses and provide $5.2 million to educate 870 new students.
The School Board asked the city to fund a $400 million budget, which calls for raising salaries 5 percent for all employees; expanding the Kemps Landing Magnet School, the International Baccalaureate Program and the Math/-Science Magnet Program; and cutting some class sizes in kindergarten through grade three. That proposal would have required the city to raise tax rates by 12 cents.
On Tuesday, Superintendent Jenney told the council he could work with a $392.5 million budget which would require a 7.4-cent rate increase.
Any less, school officials said, would require cuts in educational programs.
Jenney's proposal would have given school employees a 3.3 percent raise and used paraprofessionals rather than teachers for some jobs.
Salaries and benefits account for almost 90 percent of the schools' budget. Every 1 percent increase in pay for the district's 8,700 employees costs about $3 million.
Spore's plan provides money for a 3 percent pay raise for school employees. He told the council Thursday that school teachers should be able to make due with that because Virginia Beach career teachers are already the second-best-paid in the state.
``We're just trying to do what's fair and appropriate,'' Spore said. ``If you're the second-highest paid in the state, I think you're doing pretty well.''
Not enough council members attended a budget workshop Thursday to vote on whether they wanted to consider a higher taxes.
So Spore, who said he needed to know their views by Friday to meet legal requirements to advertise the proposed increases, polled the council members overnight Thursday via fax.
Spore would not reveal the exact tally, but said that at least one council member wanted a higher increase and two others sought no increase at all.
Council member Nancy K. Parker, who opposes any tax increase, said she doesn't think the city can justify asking for more money.
``We have asked the general public (for a tax increase) four years in a row,'' Parker said. ``Compound that with increases in the real estate assessments . . . I think that they deserve a break.
``You may have to come back next year, but I think you have to give them at least one year's reprieve,'' she said.
Parker said she did not have specific cuts in mind to eliminate the need for a tax increase, although she said she thought limiting the money put aside for reserves might solve the problem.
The council will hold a second public hearing on the budget May 9, and is expected to approve the spending plan May 14. The budget must be approved by May 30.
The council can reconsider and vote in the higher tax rates, but would not be able to meet its schedule. There was no indication on Friday that the council was willing to revisit the issue before the May 9 hearing.
Without additional hearings, the council cannot raise tax rates by more than 3.2 cents, said City Attorney Leslie L. Lilley. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
Timothy R. Jenney
John A. Baum
KEYWORDS: VIRGINIA BEACH CITY COUNCIL BUDGET VIRGINIA BEACH REAL
ESTATE TAX by CNB