
DATE: Sunday, May 18, 1997                  TAG: 9705200304

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY TERRI WILLIAMS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:   85 lines

SUFFOLK ASKS CITIZENS TO WEIGH STING OF TAXES VS. MOSQUITOES

As summer - and the family barbecue season - nears, the city is considering a proposal to tax citizens to spray insecticide in several communities surrounding downtown, as well as in northern Suffolk.

City officials haven't firmed up a timetable, but they'd like to gauge how citizens feel about paying an additional tax to attack mosquitoes in their neighorhoods.

Property owners in the affected areas now pay $1.03 per $100 of real estate value. Residents in the downtown area pay an additional 18 cents for mosquito spraying, as well as for some other city services. No citywide real estate tax rate increases are being proposed for next year.

But adding mosquito-control services would raise rates in the following communities:

Area I: Saratoga, Philadelphia would be taxed an additional 1 1/2 cents on the $1.03 rate.

Area II: South Suffolk, Orlando, Pleasant Hill, Southside Meadows would be taxed an additional 2 1/2 cents on the $1.03 rate.

Area III: Rosemont, East Suffolk Gardens, Lake Kennedy Estates, Walnut Hills and Stratford Terrace would be taxed an additional 2 cents on the $1.03 rate.

Area IV: Lloyd Place, Jericho, Hollywood, Pierce Park and Oakdale would pay an additional 4 cents on the $1.03 rate.

The difference in the rates has to do with the different road lengths and densities.

If all the areas were lumped together for one taxing district, the city would charge the residents an additional 2 cents on the rate.

The city is also studying expanding service to Nansemond Parkway from Magnolia to Wilroy Road, Res-pass Beach, Holly Acres and Boston. The city hasn't established rates for those communities.

Clarence White says he'd gladly pay the additional tax.

White has lived in East Suffolk Gardens for nearly 30 years. He enjoys sitting on the porch of his house in the 900 block of Truman, talking to friends and waving to colleagues driving by. But mosquitoes often cause White to head inside.

``It all depends on the weather,'' he said. ``If it's the day after a big storm, you couldn't sit here like I'm doing now.''

White's friend, Anita Costley, is more blunt: ``You can't sit out, period, or they'll tear you up real bad.''

Yet Costley doesn't want an added tax.

``My personal property taxes are high as it is. Why can't they just do it?''

Costley's frustration echoes the sentiment of many Suffolk citizens who have complained about fewer city services for those who live in the outlying areas.

The disparity has its roots in the merger with Suffolk and what was old Nansemond County in 1974.

Citizens in the 2.2-mile downtown corporate area insisted on keeping their high level of services and agreed to be taxed an additional 18 cents per $100 of property value to pay for them, said Assistant City Manager James G. Vacalis.

This year's fiscal budget includes $16,500 to spray insecticide once a week along those streets. In addition, their 18 cents extra gets them curbside garbage pickup, street sweeping and a number of other services.

Vice Mayor Charles F. Brown, who represents much of the proposed expanded areas, said it's time the city considers unifying the tax rate.

``Most people I talk to say they're tired of other people getting better services,'' Brown said. ``It's time we give the people the option to pay more.''

A special taxing district can be created in two ways. Fifty qualified voters in the designated area can petition the circuit court for one, or the City Council can initiate it on its own, said City Attorney Edward Roettger.

Several years ago, East Suffolk Gardens residents agreed to assess themselves a tax to pay for new sidewalks. ILLUSTRATION: Graphics

JOHN EARLE/The Virginian-Pilot

PROPOSED MOSQUITO TAXING DISTRICTS

CITY HELP

The city offers briquets to kill mosquito eggs, which are usually

found in stagnant water in ditches. The briquets are distributed

free of charge by the Public Works Department, 441 Market St., Room

101. Public Works officials suggest citizens tell them the size of

the ditch area for which the briquets are needed. For information,

call 925-6385.