DATE: Tuesday, April 22, 1997               TAG: 9704220550

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MAC DANIEL, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   96 lines

PUBLIC CAN SPEAK OUT ABOUT PROPOSED FEE INCREASES TONIGHT CHESAPEAKE EVALUATES HIGHER RATES AS A WAY TO EVEN OUT A $19 MILLION BUDGET SHORTFALL.

As the deadline approaches for the City Council to make up its mind on new or increased fees and taxes, the people who could be asked to pay the extra costs will get their chance to comment tonight.

The new fees and taxes, as well as an increase in some current charges, have been proposed to bridge a coming two-year, $19 million budget shortfall.

A public hearing on the changes will be at 6:30 tonight in City Council chambers.

At the council retreat last weekend, Mayor William E. Ward said he did not expect a vote this week on the proposed increases.

The council has scheduled approval of the operating budget and the subsequent tax and fee increase for its meeting May 13, though this could change.

It's the first time in 13 years that the council has faced the need for such increases.

Since 1984, the council has voted for a total of 14 cents per hundred dollars of assessed value in new real-estate taxes. The increase was approved in 1988. However, the council at the time initiated only 9 cents of the proposed increase. Other tax increases were approved in 1984 and 1992 but were never put into effect.

The most recent tax increase came last year when the council raised local hotel and meal taxes to help pay for the city's conference center, now under construction.

Despite the predicted budget shortfall, city officials have said the city is in excellent financial shape.

City Manager John L. Pazour described the shortfall as a fiscal glitch, the result of Chesapeake's boom years when it was considered one of the fastest-growing communities in the country.

Pazour has said the shortfall will not affect the city's excellent double-A bond rating.

However, the approved capital budget and the proposed operating budget may have to be revisited later this year as the council gets a better idea about tax revenues and future growth trends, Pazour said.

Council tonight also will discuss a proposal by Councilman W. Joe Newman that would bolster a policy the city is using to help prevent growth from outstripping public services.

Two weeks ago, Newman proposed a change in the city's level-of-service policy, a 2-year-old tool used by the council and Planning Commission to determine the impact a development will have on local infrastructure such as roads and schools.

The policy, for example, would deny a development request if the construction were in an area where local schools are at more than 120 percent capacity.

Under Newman's proposal, the city will consider not only the impact of the development seeking approval but also the potential impact of all vacant, residentially zoned land around that proposed development in determining whether public services will be overtaxed.

Newman has said the change in policy will better control growth and give developers full information about land around their proposed site.

Other council members, including Councilman Alan P. Krasnoff, have said they worry Newman's change could force developers into rural areas of the city which are less able to handle growth.

MEMO: Those wishing to speak at the scheduled public hearing must sign

up with the city clerk before the meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. For more

information, call the clerk's office at 382-6151. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

THE PROPOSED INCREASES

Here are the proposed tax and fee increases being considered:

Raising the residential gas utility tax from 25 percent of the

first $7.50 per month to 20 percent of the first $15 per month. On a

$50 gas bill, it would mean an extra $1.12 in taxes.

Raising the commercial gas utility tax from 25 percent of the

first $450 per month to 20 percent of the first $1,200 per month. On

a $1,600 monthly bill, the tax increase will total $127.50.

Establishment of a cable utility tax of 10 percent up to the

first $15 per month. That would add a maximum of $1.50 per month to

each cable bill.

Raising the local enhanced 911 tax from $6 per year to $23.40 per

year. That would be an extra $1.45 per month tax per phone line.

Raising the local cigarette tax from 20 cents per pack to 25

cents per pack.

Raising the local license tax on passenger cars and trucks

weighing 4,000 pounds or less from $23 to $26; passenger cars

weighing more than 4,000 pounds and trucks weighing between 4,001

and 10,000 pounds from $28 to $31.

Creating a $25 fee for issuing building permits.

Raising the application/issuance fees for electrical, plumbing

and gas permits from $15 to $25 each.

Creating a mobile local telecommunication service tax of 10

percent of the first $30 per month. This equals a maximum charge of

$3 per month for each cellular phone billed.

Raising the fee for advanced life support ambulance service from

$150 to $200. Basic life support service will remain unchanged at

$100 per call.

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