Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutAPRIL 18, 2013 SPECIAL SESSION MINUTES CITY OF VIRGINIA BEACH "COMMUNITY FOR A LIFETIME" G�r1lA•BEgC L. CITY COUNCIL MAYOR WILLIAM D.SESSOMS,JR.,At-Large VICE MAYOR LOUIS R.JONES,Bayside-District 4 �� Cl INN R.DAVIS,Rose Hall-District 3 71:0 417 WILLIAM R.DeSTEPH,At-Large o,`oue tint ows ROBERT M.DYER,Centerville-District/ BARBARA M.HENLEY,Princess Anne-•District 7 JOHN D.MOSS,At-Large AMELIA N.ROSS-HAMMOND,Kempsville-District 2 JOHN E.UHRIN,Beach -District 6 ROSEMARY WILSON.At-Large CITY HALL BUILDING JAMES L. WOOD,Lynnhaven-District 5 2401 COURTHOUSE DRIVE CITY COUNCIL APPOINTEES VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA 23456-8005 PHONE:(757)385-4303 CITY MANAGER-JAMES K.SPORE 9 5 38 -566 CITY ATTORNEY- MARK D.STILES E-MA/L:ctycncl FAX(757)385-5669 CITY ASSESSOR- JERALD D.BANAGAN CITY AUDITOR- LYNDON S.REMIAS CITY CLERK- RUTH HODGES FRASER,MMC CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP AGENDA 18 APRIL 2013 SPECIAL FORMAL SESSION VIRGINIA BEACH MIDDLE SCHOOL 6:00 PM I. PUBLIC HEARING A. FY2013-2014 RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN (Budget) II II - 1 - G�NlA BEAc r \1. x :1 a R R X49 \, L.ur.('_ /s OF OUR NN"OaS MINUTES VIRGINIA BEACH CITY COUNCIL Virginia Beach,Virginia April 18, 2013 Mayor William D. Sessoms, Jr. called to order the Virginia Beach City Council's SPECIAL FORMAL SESSION, at Virginia Beach Middle School, on Wednesday,April 18,2013, at 6:00 P.M. Council Members Present: William R. "Bill" DeSteph, Robert M. Dyer, Barbara M. Henley, Vice Mayor Louis R. Jones, John D. Moss, Amelia N. Ross- Hammond, Mayor William D. Sessoms, Jr., John E. Uhrin and James L. Wood Council Members Absent: Glenn R. Davis Rosemary Wilson April 18, 2013 - 2 - MAYOR'S CALL FOR FORMAL SESSION Mayor Sessoms read the Mayor's Call for Special Formal Session: April 15, 2013 "THE HONORABLE MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL In accordance with the Virginia Beach City Code Section 2-21, and by the authority vested in me as Mayor of the City of Virginia Beach, I hereby call for a SPECIAL FORMAL SESSION of the VIRGINIA BEACH CITY COUNCIL at 6:00 PM, Thursday, April 18, 2013, at Virginia Beach Middle School. The purpose of this SPECIAL FORMAL SESSION is to conduct the advertised PUBLIC HEARING on the FY2013-2014 Resource Management Plan and to invite citizens to share their concerns on the next fiscal year Budget. Sincerely, William D. Sessoms,Jr. Mayor" • April 18, 2013 - 3 - Mayor Sessoms DECLARED A PUBLIC HEARING: The City Council hereby declares a Public Hearing "open"on the matters of: • The proposed Fiscal Year 2013-14 Operating Budget • The proposed Fiscal Year 2013-14 to 2018-19 Capital Improvement Program, including the FY2013-14 Capital Budget • The proposed issuance of General Obligation Bonds in the estimated maximum amount of$68.12-MILLION • The proposed issuance of Water and Sewer System Revenue Bonds in the maximum amount of$27-MILLION • The proposed increase to the personal property tax rate for pleasure boats • The proposed increase to the cigarette tax • The proposed extension to the lodging tax • The proposed increase to the Waste Management Fee • The proposed increases to various planning department fees Mayor Sessoms advised, if any citizen is not able to address all of his or her comments or concerns within the allotted time, he or she may provide those comments to the City Clerk in writing for distribution to the City Council Mayor Sessoms advised the Speakers will be limited to three-minutes (3) each. In order to be fair to all, the Mayor must hold firm to this time limit. The following registered to speak: Trenace Riggs, Phone: 486-0202, President of the Virginia Beach Education Association. Ms. Riggs represented nearly 2,000 Teachers and School employees requesting City Council to take advantage of the opportunity of being provided to all of the School Districts in the Commonwealth. Governor McDonald and the General Assembly passed Legislation providing funding for a 2%pay raise for all instructional positions funded by the SOQ, which is over $3-MILLION to the City of additional funding. However, due to the restrictions of having the raises for only Instructional SOQ funded positions and that none of the 2%raise can be used to off-set the required 1% VRS contribution, additional funding must be found to bridge the gap so that all School employees receive a 2% raise in addition to the 1% VRS contribution. Unfortunately, the School Board was not able to find the funds to take advantage of the $3.1-MILLION from the State, based on the Revenue Sharing Formula. The School Board requested City Council to consider funding this request. The VBEA supports the establishment of the Revenue Sharing Formula, they do not see it as the 'final word" on School funding, simply a baseline for planning. A vast majority of the School Districts around the Commonwealth are taking advantage of this funding and the City should not be left behind. The Schools will eventually need to catch up,with surrounding districts in terms of pay and, when it happens, the State may not be providing adequate funding and the Citizens will have to pay the entire costs. April 18, 2013 - 4 - Debbie Ahrdahl, 2033 Schubert Drive, Phone: 430-1206, is a Teacher with Virginia Beach City Public Schools and encouraged City Council to accept the SOQ funds offered by the State and find the funds for raises for all of the additional School employees. Ms. Ahrdahl chose this profession because it is what she loves, not to get rich, but wanting to make a difference for children. While the challenges for Teacher increase, the feeling as though they are appreciated decreases. Increasing costs for health care and mandated VRS contributions are rapidly increasing. Ms. Ahrdahl advised her pay has increased a mere 2.5% pay raise in the last five (5) years, which was absorbed when health care costs increased in January. Ms. Ahrdahl requests City Council find the additional funding to accept the State's proposed funding. Rick Quigg, 1005 Caton Drive, Phone: 620-1000, stated the City has been deemed one of the "best run cities in the Country" mainly due to City Council making good decisions throughout the year. However, the proposed boat tax will not be in the City's best interest. Back in 1991, when a boat tax was instituted, the Commonwealth saw a net loss of$7.6-MILLION, and the tax law was quickly repealed. Last year alone, Mr. Quigg spent approximately $47,000 on maintenance (all local businesses). The boat tax will be a net "negative"to the City if passed. Steven Johnsonton expressed his appreciation to City Council and Staff for the hard work on the proposed Budget. Specifically,for what is in the proposed Budget but what is not. The School Board Budget Resolution included a line item of$3.1-MILLION for the Governor's Teaching Raise Program and he feels this should not be in the City's budget. To include this line item, it would violate the City Charter. The City Charter states the School Board shall submit a "lump-sum" budget only, having a line item is a clear violation. The City Manager is not allowed to tell the School Board how to spend the money, only how much to spend. Zeb Moseley, 1208 Treefern Drive, Phone: 650-1628, Master Firefighter for the City, expressed concern regarding pay compression the Department is experiencing. Approximately 1/3 of the Department is at the bottom of the pay scale. Mr. Moseley suggested instead of spending millions of dollars on projects and studies the City should put those monies toward employee compensation. Joe Polozzi, 217 Coltan Avenue #301, Phone: 572-2721, Firefighter for the City for the past 6 years. Mr. Polozzi expressed his concern regarding pay compression the Department is experiencing. Mr. Polozzi advised he has been stuck at the bottom of the pay scale his entire career. The City is losing qualified firefighters to neighboring cities. Public Safety is essential and makes the City appealing to live and visit. Ivy Kennedy, 4956 Willow Point Lane, Phone: 495-4783, did not respond. William Bailey, 644 Edwin Drive, Phone: 288-5761, President of the Virginia Beach Professional Firefighters, requested pay raises to employees. City Council has received numerous emails from Firefighters and the message is clear; employees need help. A week ago, the Police Chief the Fire Chief and the Sheriff all requested pay raises for their Departments. The compression and pay issues are a major problem in the City. Mr. Bailey advised he had never seen that occur in the past 15 years and has finally reached a level where Public Safety Chiefs are publically speaking out for the need for pay raises. This is unheard of and highlights the problems in the Public Safety Departments. Mr. Bailey suggests delaying certain projects until better budget years is a valid option. Mr. Bailey also suggests the City bill for ambulance transport like every other City in the Region. Please consider the requests and put employees at the top of the list and compensate them accordingly. A 3%pay raise of$1,500 one time bonus is not leadership and not what Citizens or employees expect. Joe Andrew, 1052 Cardinal Road, Phone: 422-8226, advised he is Assistant General Manager and Harbor Master for Cavalier Yacht Club. You are misinformed if you believe boat owners will not move • their boats from the City as he saw it happen in the 1990's. If the Cavalier lost 50 boats due to the tax increase, they would loose approximately $154,000 per year in dockage, not including revenue in the Club as a whole. The business taxes will be impacted due to lower food, beverage and fuel sales. The April 18, 2013 - 5 - Marina industry has not yet recovered from the Recession and this can be seen throughout the Marinas in the City with occupancy levels at 48 to 62%. The Cavalier is at 80% compared to years and years having a "wait list". Please consider the proposed boat tax and do research and you will find all of the support services to the boaters will suffer the most. The mechanics, divers, boat deatilers, yard workers, electronic installers, fuel suppliers, dock crews, brokers, equipment sales, recyclers and food and beverage are just to mention a few of the support services that will suffer. Robert Doran, appearing on behalf of Max Gonano, Vice President of the Virginia Beach Professional Firefighters, requested pay raises to employees. City Council has received numerous emails from Firefighters and the message is clear; employees need help. The response to the emails show the general lack of understanding as to what is going on in the City regarding compensation. Pubilc Safety is a rewarding career that starts out with an honest salary with widely accepted belief that salaries will slowly and steadily increase. The reality that Police Officers and Fire Fighters hired since 2008 make the same salary as brand new employees, receiving no incentivites or rewards for their experience or tenure. It would take approximately a 17% increase to the employees with 5 years service to get to the same pay as a 5 year employee in 2008. Compression will follow these employees the rest of their lives until retirement. Mr. Doran requested a net salary increase for employees. Bijay Bel, 4869 North Witchduck, Phone: 499-1801, did not respond. Diana Howard, 1057 Debaca Court, Phone 721-5128, requested City Council focus on priorities;public safety, education and public works. According to the proposed Budget, the City's current fiscal condition is excellent and City Council continues to improve that position by looking towards strategic goals. The City's reserve for contingencies have more than doubled since last year. It may be prudent to have reserve funds, but not if the disposable income of Citizens are decreased. Dane Blythe, 2004 Oakleaf Lane, Phone: 537-1700, Chairman of Virginia Beach Taxpayers Alliance. Mr. Blythe stated VBTA is pleased the proposed budget did not recommend a tax increase. The state of the Citizens remains uncertain and, in many respects, unsettling. Median household incomes are down 8% since 2000 with nearly 30,000 public school students on reduced or free lunches. Since 2008, families that reeive SNAP Benefits has doubled. The VBTA requests the City Council not impose the trash fee increase or the boat tax. Mr. Blyte would like to see more prioritized spending and let Citizens keep more of their hard earned money. Chris Jacobs, 817 Salt Meadow Bay Arch,#215, Phone: 513-6617, a VBCPS teacher for last 20 years, advised this is first time he has ever felt compelled to attend a City Council meeting. He requested City Council do "their job" and he will do his. Mr. Jacobs takes great pride in the City and it is surely his "Community for a Lifetime". Dr. Merrill accepts awards and praises for the City's outstanding School System; however, those awards and praises will decrease if the Teachers continue to be denied the pay increases they so deserve. Mr. Jacobs expressed his dissatisfaction with City Council because he felt compelled to come and beg for a 3%pay raise. Mr. Jacobs requested City Council accept the SOQ funding from the State and find the funds to provide raises to the rest of the School's employees. George Bryant, 2320 Dood Drive, Phone: 434-0825, requested City Council not raise taxes again this year. Mr. Bryant's property increased 13.9% and being on a fixed income it is hard to pay bills. Mr. Bryant stated City Employees are not only people facing higher health care costs, the average taxpayer cannot keep up with government spending. The Recession is not over for the average American. James Burritt, 1821 Upper James Court, Phone: 481-1365, requested City Council not impose the boat tax as this will have a negative effect on existing sales and service groups. The industry is just now showing signs of growth since the Recession. The proposed boat tax will have negative impact on April 18, 2013 - 6 - support services and local businesses with the expected Revenue being less than one-tenth of 1% of the City's Budget. Boating is one of the many things that makes the City an attractive place to live and visit. Johnathon Pope, 6300 East Virginia Beach Blvd., Phone: 351-1587, requested funding for Endependence Center. Allan Dimapelis, 6300 East Virginia Beach Blvd., Phone: 351-1587, requested funding for Endependence Center. Sheryl Hawkins, 3557 Croft Pride Drive, Phone: 450-4892, did not respond. Audrey Ward, 3386 Holland Road, Phone: 450-4892, did not respond. Kimberly Robillard, 5204 Lowery Downs, Phone: 495-5171, is a Teacher and requested City Council support the 3% raise for Teachers and Educational Support Staff. Teachers never expected to be wealthy; however, they do expect to earn a fair and living wage. The City is no longer the premier teaching destination it once was. Starting salaries have fallen to the point that the City is below the starting salaries for the area. The School Board requested fuding to address the compensation for Administrators; however, Ms. Robillard stated Teachers and Support Staff deserve the same as they are equally as valuable. The School Board proposed a .34%raise but that will not even cover the increase in garbage fees or health care costs. Stephen Johnson, 6300 East Virginia Beach Blvd., Phone: 461-8007, Director of the Endependence Center, expressed his appreciation for the past 30 years of funding. This past year, the Center reached all time high in serviing Citizens of the City. Approixmately 1,600 Citizens were served with direct services, plus 200 hours a month in community service. The Center assists disabled persons to learn to speak for themselves, build self esteem, realize life goals and have the same opportunity as everyone else. Two (2) years ago, the funding was cut approximately in half. The Center is serving more people with less staff and requests City Council restore the funding back to the funding received two (2)years ago. Kaitlyn Jensen, 520 Woodshire Way, Phone: 646-5277, Teacher at Pembroke Meadows Elementary. Ms. Jensen stated the City and Schools have put bandages over the funding problems for the last five (5) years. Over a five (5)year span, employees have received pay raises totaling 2.5%and she requests City Council take more assertive steps at fixing the problems with compensation. Ms. Jensen requested City Council fund the $3.1-MILLION needed to receive the State's money and if not, those funds will go to other localities in the State. The surrounding cities pay better and provides higher stipends for employees holding Masters Degree. In order to have a quality School system, the City must offer quality pay. Barbara Powell, 1089 Sandy Narrows Court, Phone: 478-7929, is a Special Education Teacher's Assistant and proud graduate of Cox High School and requests the City Council support the proposed employee pay raise. Ms. Powell advised many School employees work part time jobs. Ms. Powell is in her 20th year with the School System and her base pay is $20,539 plus $325 earned for professional development, which equates to take home pay of$573 every two weeks. Ms. Powell expressed her disappointment that her profession is undervalued. Mary Norton, 3905 Lantana Place, Phone: 749-7794, has worked at the Virginia Beach Fishing Center since 1996. After the boat tax was repealed in 2001, the City began seeing substantial increases in the off season. Hotels are now offering "winter fishing rates" and the harbor is at 90% capacity year `round. Ms. Norton requested City Council not implement the proposed boat tax as it will be a huge loss to the City. Al Harb, 3712 Criollo Drive, Phone: 368-0393, owner of Smoke Shack in the City, Norfolk and Chesapeake, with 16 locations, requests the City not raise the cigarette tax. The cigarette tax has April 18, 2013 - 7 - increased each year for the past three years and sales have decreased tremendously because of the increase in tax. Mr. Harb has had to close stores in the City because of the reduced sales, which means individuals lost jobs. Jorja Jean, 1900 Mediterranean Avenue, Phone: 428-0299, is a Teacher and appreciates the progress commitment to the Historic Houses. This year's proposed Budget reduces the funding by$465,000. Any loss to the historical homes is a loss to our national heritage. Ken Jobe, 304 Crotan Road, Phone: 428-0328, spoke in support of the CIP Funding for the Housing Resource Center. The demand for Homeless housing has exceeded the supply available for numerous years. The City needs a central location to pull together all of the services that are available from the Federal, State and Local levels, in addition to the Volunteer providers. The demand for services is increasing each and every day. A recent study funded by the Hampton Roads Community Foundation did not address the impact of the Homeless on the surrounding neighborhoods. Phil Kellam, Commissioner of the Revenue,provided the perspective from the "tax assessor" on the boat tax. 12 years ago, City Council reduced the boat tax rate on watercraft to essentially a zero bill. Although the City does not generate a bill for taxes on boats, Mr. Kellam is required to discover the property and assess the property and he has continued to do that for the past twelve years. When City Council essentially eliminated the boat tax, it was done for mainly two reasons: 1) requires extraordinary enforcement to realize the revenue from the tax; and 2) the City realized it put itself in a competitive disadvantage with other Hampton Roads localities as well as other boating localities. The fleet is up 80%and the fleet value is up 219%in the last 12 years. Steve Clark, 576 N. Birdneck Road, Phone: 469-5229, expressed his opposition to the boat tax. Mr. Clark requested the City better manage employees by reducing unnecessary staff that will make up the amount of revenue from the boat tax. Mike Standing is a lifelong boater and Director of one of the largest fishing tournaments in the country. He has received numerous calls regarding the proposed boat tax. While the City has seen an increase in boats of 80%, most of the country is down. An estimated 13,000 boats that will be taxed and the Commissioner of the Revenue will most likely have to hire additional Staff to generate the revenue. The boat tax will be a net loss for the City. There being no further speakers,Mayor Sessoms CLOSED THE PUBIC HEARING. • April 18, 2013 - 8 - ADJOURNMENT Mayor William D. Sessoms DECLARED the City Council Meeting ADJOURNED at 7:09 P.M. A4 Ad Al I— ' - 1,i t 0 manda Fin ey-Barnes, CMC Chief Deputy City Clerk uth Hodge Fraser, MMC William D. Sessoms,Jr. City Clerk Mayor City of Virginia Beach Virginia April 18, 2013 - 8 - ADJOURNMENT Mayor William D. Sessoms, Jr. DECLARED the City Council Meeting ADJOURNED at 7:09 P.M. ialuvoi -gam Amanda Fan el y-Barnes, CMCJ Chief Deputy City Clerk th Hodges Fraser, MMC William I. essoms, Jr. City Clerk Mayor City of Virginia Beach Virginia April 18, 2013