2007-04-02 - Laserfiche WebLink

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7 Mr. Paul Daughterty, 908 Morton Street, said his assessment has doubled in five years. He said the proposed budget is $23 million more than was spent last year. He said there is a lot of room to cut the tax rate. He suggested cutting economic development and the CIP, including funds for transportation, mall reconstruction, Parks and Recreation, and debt service. He said Council should communicate more with the public regarding the budget. Ms. Naomi Roberts, 1140 St. Clair Avenue, said free bus service should not be provided to those who can afford it. She said some of the fat should be cut out of the budget, and the rate should be reduced by more than 4 cents. She asked if the $1 million for EMS is still in the budget, and if so, what is going to be done with it. As there were no further speakers, the public hearing was closed. Dr. Brown said that a number of things in the budget are good and needed, including Sunday service for buses, sustainability initiatives, police safety, competitive market adjustments for police officers, and support for the Schools. He said addressing wage compression issues and technology is important. He said he has not agreed with some of the things proposed, and expressed concern about going it alone with affordable housing. He said in the long run this needs to be addressed community wide. He said he does not support the EMS proposal and feels $1 million is a bit much. He said perhaps we can cut back on the amount as we move forward with the oversight committee. Mr. Norris echoed some of Dr. Brown’s comments regarding Sunday bus services, sustainability and schools. He said he differs with Dr. Brown’s comments about affordable housing and thinks it is important that we move forward, and he encouraged the County to do the same. He thanked the public who participated, and said over 1000 people have participated in different ways in the process. He said he agrees we need more systematic input. He said he has never been a big fan of property taxes, and would prefer a tax based on one’s ability to pay. He said his preference would be to do away with the real estate tax and implement an income tax, but we are very limited in our ability to do this. He said he wanted to look at those hardest hit by taxes and in danger of not being able to live in the City. He said he is a big supporter of the tax rebate program and also supports a tax deferral program. He thanked the University of Virginia students for their leadership on the living wage issue. Mr. Lynch said he agrees with the large majority in the room. He said the proposed tax decrease is not as much as he would like and the budget is more than he can justify. He said that with salaries, health benefits and retirement City employees’ increase is more like 6%. He said he would like to take us to 93 cents. He said he supports the Sunday bus service and increases in CTS in general. He said he believes we need to address affordable housing, but should do so as a region with Albemarle County. He said he believes we could reduce taxes another 3 cents and can cut $1.5 million with minimal pain. Mr. Taliaferro said he has looked at the budget three times. He said he understands some concern with expenditures. He said a lot of the budget is legally mandated and a lot is for the good and well being of citizens. He said when he was elected he wanted to assure that quality services were delivered in a quality manner. He said he thinks it is time to reopen a dialogue with Albemarle County to look at our governance structure and see if a unified structure would be better for the community. Ms. Hamilton said she disagrees with much that has been said about affordable housing. She said many of the initiatives are for middle income residents and are not aimed at families at the poverty level. She said she respects comments made by speakers, even those who think Council is wrong. She expressed concern that there has been a fair amount of distortion. She said she thinks it would be possible to get another cent or two out of the tax rate. She said Council is still working on the budget. Mr. O’Connell said that the amendments made by Council bring the tax rate down to 97 cents and if Council wants to change the rate, we need to look at further budget reductions.