Minutes 03/19/1996 - Laserfiche WebLink

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March 19, 1996 At a Called Meeting of the City Council held on Tuesday, March 19, 1996, there were present: Mayor Gloria O. Webb, Vice Mayor Johnny M. Clemons, Bernard D. Griffin, Sr., James C. Hawks, *James T. Martin, Cameron C. Pitts, Ronald W. Massie, City Manager, G. Timothy Oksman, City Attorney. 96-105 - The following call for the meeting was read: "Please attend a Called Meeting of the City Council to be held in the City Council Chamber, 6th floor of City Hall, 801 Crawford Street, at 5:00 p.m., Tuesday, March 19, 1996, for the purpose of a Public Work Session and the presentation of the proposed Operating Budget. In addition, you may consider a motion to go into an Executive Session. By order of the Mayor." 96-106 - The following items were discussed in the Public Work Session: 1. The following budget message was submitted by the City Manager: "I am pleased to present the 1996-97 Proposed Operating Budget. The priorities established at the beglnning of this budget development process are simple, but significant for improving the future of our city and its citizens: Maintaining quality services, delivering services in a cost effective manner, focusing on customer needs, and realizing these priorities without an increase in tax rates. In addition, the City Council's goals serve as guiding principles for the allocation of the city's resources. As the. budget recommendations will reveal, the city administration recognizes the challenges ahead for Portsmouth and offers a plan for successfully achieving City Council's goals: safe and productive citizens, a financially secure city, desirable, livable neighborhoods and a low cost provider of quality services. BUILDING CAPACITY The imajor theme woven throughout the budget is "building capacity for the future." This budget offers the framework for creating an organization with the capacity to achieve City Council's goals and objectives by providing for new economic development and marketing initiatives, improvements in technology, increased financial health, and investment in our employees. To successfully achieve our desired outcomes will require close coordination between the City Council; city staff; the business, military, professional, and educational community and our citizens. To date, the involvement of our citizens in two major initiatives -- Vision 2005 and the community policing effort, known as "NEAT," has yielded significant successes. These efforts have shown citizens throughout the city that they as individuals can, and do, make a difference.