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June 13th, 1961
<br />
<br />At a regular meeting of the City Council, held on June 13th, 1961, there were
<br />
<br />R. Irvine Smith, Jack R. Barnes, W.R. Breedlove, W.To Leery, R.B. Seward,
<br />George R. Walker, R. E. Weiseman, A.P. Johnson,Jr., City Manage~ J~S.bivesay,Jr.,
<br />City Attorney
<br />
<br />The meeting was opened with prayer by Mr. Smith.
<br />
<br /> 61-147 - A public hearing on the proposed Fiscal Guide for 1961-62 was held.
<br /> The following spoke:
<br />
<br /> E.g. Williams, Mrs. Marian W. Rawls, Marion E. Tuttle, Louis Whitehead,
<br /> L. H. Keffer, S.R. Hensley
<br />
<br /> 61-147.1 - Motion of ~r. Walker ~o change the order 6f business ro consider Item
<br />#1 of New Business first and Ordinance entitled 'An Ordinance to Amend and Reordain Section g-l/6 of the Code of
<br />the City of Portsmouth, Virginia, 1961, as Amended To Provide for the Beginning of the Fiscal Year on the First
<br />day of January of each year from and after January 1, 1962' which was referred to a conference at last meeting~
<br />be removed from the table and considered second, since both items pertain zo the budget ordinance, was lost,there~
<br />being no second.
<br />
<br />The following reports from the City Manager were read:
<br />
<br />firs~ reading.
<br />1961-62."
<br />
<br /> 61-148 - "I submit the attached ordinance and recommend that ir be placed, on
<br />This ordinance appropriates funds for the operation of the City Government for the fiscal year
<br />
<br />Motion of NLr. Weiseman ~o place the following ordinance on firs~ reading:
<br />
<br />"AN ORDINANCE TO '.APPROPRIATE FUNDS ~ECESSARY FOR OPERATION OF THE
<br />CITY GOVERNMENT FOR AND DURING THE-EtSCAL YEAR BEGINNING JULY 1, 1961
<br />AND ENDING JUNE 30, 1962"
<br />
<br />~r. Walker made the following s~a~emen~:
<br />
<br /> '"If the government is living within its income, its credit is good. If, in some
<br />cris~s, it lives beyond its income for a year or nwo, it can usually borFow temporarily~ on reasonable terms.
<br />But, if like the spendthrift, it throws discretion to the winds, is willint to make no sacrifice at all in spend-t
<br />ina, extends its taxing up to the limits of people's power to pay and continues ¢o pile up deficits, it is on the,
<br />road ~o bankruptcy." (Unquote) That was said by none other than Franklin D. Roosevelt in Pittsburgh, Pa.. on
<br />Oct. 19, 1932 -- s sound statement by one who practiced the opposite of his preaching~:
<br /> I want to make it unmistakably clear, that ~hen I refer in the following comments~
<br />to acts or actions of the City Manager I consider such acts and actions to be those of this body: and the respon-
<br />sibility of this body which ha~, in full knowledge of the factS, tacitly approved his actions. The Manager is
<br />human. He has a job which pays well, both in coin of the realm and in power, and his job depends upo~ the pleasure
<br />of the majority (4) of this council.
<br /> The Record of Council shows no official action which, in anyway, repealed or
<br />amended this directive concerning the use of the funds received from the tum~el commission. I note in the
<br /> 2 '
<br />30 April? 1960 ~onthly Finance Report that the entire ~1,352,547.5 zs found under the Realized Revenue column of
<br />the General Fund.
<br /> The nextpiece of evidence to prove that Council did not blindly, end without
<br />warning, arrive at today's point of need for more than a half-million of additional revenue, ia the ~anager's
<br />1960-61 budget, the current budget ending this month. Of thisbudget the Record of Council, June 28th, 1960
<br />Item 60-172 contains my statement.
<br /> Today we have before us the delayed action tax increase~ Both the 1960-61 budget
<br />and the alleged pay raise £~om non-existent tunnel funds were as false as a three-dollar bill. When the audit
<br />of that fiscal year was received in September 1960 it contained on Page 7 in the analysisof changes in Balance
<br />of the General Fund the following masterpiece of understatement, (Quote) "In early 1960 the City received
<br />$1,352,547.52 fro~ the Elizabeth River Tunnel Commission. This is the prime factor in producing g surplus in the
<br />General Fund." ~nquote) A,surplus of only $141~101.85 after a wind-fall of n~arly $1~400~000.00~ This is
<br />certified proof that the~tire tnnnel fund was credited to the General Fund revenue for fiseal 60-61~a~ there-
<br />fore did not exist after 30 June9 1960.
<br /> The June 1960 Finance Report (received in July after the budget was in force),
<br />when compared with the audit for that year, produced many questions in my mind and during the second Council
<br />meeting in October, 1960 I presented these questions and asked the lZianager for a writtenanswer. I quote one
<br />of these questions: '~age 2 of the 30 Jun~ 1960 Finance Report shows as REALIZED REVENUE in the General Fund
<br />$1,352,547.52from the Tunnel Commission~ the exact amount of the agreement. Page 3 of the 31 July 1960 Finance
<br />Report shows es ESTIMATED REVENUE in the General Fund $150,000.00 under Title of TUNNEL FUNDS RECEIPTS - Salaries
<br />This is not believed to be possible and an account of transactions with explanation is helieved to be in order."
<br />(Unquote) To this date, I have not received an answer, oral or written.
<br /> During the Council meeting of 13 December 1960, I again reminded the Manager and
<br />Council of these unanswered questions and presented a summary of my comments on fiscal year 59-60. I quote from
<br />that statement: "We actually under-estimated the Revenue by $186,523.74. Exhibit B (of the audit) indicates
<br />that we exceeded it by $1,166,023.78
<br />
<br />Calculation:
<br />
<br /> $8,566,383.78
<br />minus 1~352~547.52
<br /> 7,213,836.26
<br />minus 77400,360.00
<br /> - 186,523.74
<br />
<br />Revenue shown in B (which incIuded all Tunnel ~unds)
<br />Received from the Tunnel Co~issiou
<br />Actual Revenue
<br />Estimated Revenue 59-60 Budget
<br />
<br />The General Fund balance on June 30, 1960 of $141,101.85, although correct from
<br />
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