THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 27, 1996 TAG: 9610270359
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 52 lines
City Council members spent their annual retreat Saturday talking of mainly one thing: taxes.
No official action was taken, but the council spent much of the all-day retreat discussing possible tax increases to fund all or some future needs, including $196 million in school administration requests, a possible city employee pay raise, or the creation of a fund to lure big business to Chesapeake.
A tax on emergency 911 telephone service, a cigarette tax, a motor vehicle license fee, a cellular phone tax and a cable television utility tax were some of the options discussed. However, council members said they would have to weigh their priorities over the next year before seriously discussing a tax increase.
Talk of taxes comes as the city begins to enter a financially tight time in the next several budget years.
Chesapeake's capital expenses, such as new roads and schools, are expected to require a large portion of the money the city will receive through the building of new homes. City spending is expected to outpace increases in revenue and resources over the next several years.
In addition, the amount of money the city is spending to pay off its debt is too high to incur more debt beyond what is already included in the city's Capital Improvement Budget, according to finance director Claude Wright.
But ``there is no danger here,'' Wright said, adding that the city has been planning for these lean years for some time.
The city's commercial and residential property values are continuing to grow, Wright said. About 68 percent of the city's developed property is residential, while 32 percent is commercial or industrial. That ratio is fine for now, Wright said, but city officials said they'd like to see more emphasis placed on commercial growth.
To do this, the city's Department of Economic Development is proposing a program to offer financial incentives and tax breaks to businesses that locate in Chesapeake. The city now has no formal financial incentive program.
The City Council offered little objection when Donald Z. Goldberg, director of the economic development department, suggested a 5 cent increase in the local cigarette tax to help fund the incentive program. If enacted, the local tax would rise from 20 cents to 25 cents per pack. Virginia Beach, Hampton and Portsmouth currently have cigarette taxes higher than 25 cents.
In addition to these topics, the council appeared to have enough votes to offer a resolution supporting Virginia Beach's efforts to build the formerly named Southeastern Expressway.
The road, which would ultimately link Route 44 with Interstate 64 and 464 in Chesapeake, has never received the support of Chesapeake City Council, which worried the road would impact neighborhoods in the Greenbrier section of the city. by CNB