DATE: Thursday, October 16, 1997            TAG: 9710160553

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY KATRICE FRANKLIN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:   43 lines

SUFFOLK PLAN INCLUDES NEW SCHOOLS, IN TIME

Suffolk's schools would wait longer than they expected for new buildings and the renovation of older ones in a proposed building plan released Wednesday by the city's finance director.

While no new taxes were proposed by city staff to meet the building needs, council members were told that the city's pocketbook just isn't large enough to pay for the many demands of a growing community.

The school system alone has asked for $35.3 million for next year. The School Board's six-year building request totals $142.2 million. Under the plan presented Wednesday, the school system's request would be met, but it would take almost double the time to do so.

The proposed plan, for $17.1 million, includes building a new middle school, renovating older schools, improving the city's recreational buildings and building roads to access the Suffolk Industrial Park.

``We have identified our needs and what's affordable,'' Christine Ledford, the city's finance director, said. ``We don't have a crystal ball. . . . Yes, we have a lot of needs and we have attempted to put them in priority.''

Ledford told council members that the proposed plan is a more realistic picture of what Suffolk can afford.

Two years ago, the city passed financial policies that limit how much it can borrow annually for its building needs.

While state law restricts localities from borrowing more than 10 percent of the assessed value of its real estate property, Suffolk's city charter reduces that debt ratio to 7 percent.

Under Ledford's proposed plan, the city could spend about $109.7 million on its construction list in the next five years and about $225.1 million in the next 10 years.

``This is going to slow them (school system) down a little bit,'' Ledford said.

Vice-Mayor Charles Brown said he's not sure how Suffolk can follow the guidelines and also reach its long list of projects.

The City Council, which will make the final decision on the building plan for next year, will hold another work session on the plan at its Nov. 5 meeting.

Public sessions and a public hearing will be held at the end of November.

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