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RESOLUTION OPPOSING-TSZ ~UCTTON 0F "~ERAL I~ACT" FUkrDS. <br /> <br /> k.~S~ the Congress of the United States is presently <br />considering a proposal to reduce the fins~ncial assists~nce provided <br />by the Federal goverr~ent under PUBLIC L~W 81-874, to local school <br />districts v£~ich sre located in areas where there sre large federal <br />installations s~nd ~nere large numbers of federal employees, both <br />militsry and civilisn reside~ and <br /> <br /> WhqLREAS, any reduction in these funds v.~!l have such dire <br />consequences on the firmncial affairs of the localities as to adverse- <br />ly affect the educational program of the childrem attending the schools <br />in the impact areas; and <br /> <br /> ~S, it is vital to the fut~3re of our nation that Con- <br />gress should be fully informed in this matter before ts_king action <br />that could drastically affect the educational opportunities of our <br />youth, <br /> <br /> NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOL~ by the Council of the City <br />of Portsmouth~ Virginia, that it hereby most strongly urges the Con- <br />gress of the Ur~ited States of ~erica not to take any action which <br />would in any k~y term3_nate or reduce the firmncial assistance present- <br />ly rendered to local school districts under PUBLIC LAW 81-87~ for the <br />following reasons: <br /> <br />Local govarnment is severely restricted in its <br />taxing powers as compared to the state and fed- <br />eral govermment s. <br /> <br />2. Political boundaries limit the revenue sources <br /> available to a given locality. <br /> <br />The Federal Goverr~-~mnb owns one-ei~mhth of the <br />total land area of Portsmouth, includiD~ a <br />large percentage of its orimm waterfront pro- <br />perry. On this Federal property is located <br />the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, the Coast Gus_~d <br />Base, The U. S. Naval~ Hospital, the Federal <br />Office Building, New Gosport and Sts_nley Court <br />Housing Projects, ~nd other smaller installa- <br />tions. The value of these Federally owned <br />installations equals approximately the values <br />of all the other privately owned rea~ estate <br />for w~hich the City of Portsmouth receives <br />taxes. If this Federal property were taxable, <br />Portsmouth would receive almost five times <br />as much in tsxes as it now receives from Ira- <br /> <br /> <br />