Minutes 03/20/2007 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

March 20. 2007 . $7.1 million increase in funding for Portsmouth Public Schools, completing the joint efforts of the three-year commitment of City Council and the School Board. . $2.1 million in additional funding for neighborhood and community investments. . A 4.5 percent general wage increase for full-time City employees and 2.25 percent COLA increase for retirees under the Portsmouth retirement systems. . New funding of $ 4.1 million to fulfill mandated funding of Other Post-Employee Benefits (OPEB) in keeping with new national financial accounting and reporting requirements. . A recommendation to reduce the real estate tax rate by 16 cents over the next three fiscal years. The recommendation would reduce the rate for FY08 from $1.36 per $100 of valuation to $1.28. . $2.7 million increase in debt service. . An increase of $4.5 million for City operations. . An increase in the boat tax from 1 cent per $100 of valuation to $1 per $100 of valuation. . Adjustments in a number of fees and rates that amount to an additional $7.90 a month for the average residence. Taken together the total new cost in taxes and fees is expected to be slightly less than $25 per month for the average family. BudQet Themes There are seven major themes that are addressed in this budget proposal: o Commitment to Education o Neighborhood and Community Investments o Citywide Economic Development o Investing in City Employees o Tax and Other Fiscal Adjustments o Capital Improvement Program (CIP) o Innovations and Efficiencies in Municipal Services Commitment to Education The City's renewed commitment to public education enters its third consecutive year. Oliver Goldsmith, an Irish writer and physician, captured in words just how complete our effort must be: "To aim at excellence, our reputation and friends and all must be ventured; to aim at the average, we run no risk and provide little service." The words of the City Council's Vision Statement are clear in saying that education is the City's top priority. Therefore: I am recommending $7.1 million of new funding for the Portsmouth Public Schools to complete the third-year of City Council's three-year commitment to establish marketplace equity for schoolteachers and support other learning goals. Let's look at the joint commitment of the City Council and School Board to increase teacher salaries: · Two years ago, City Council committed to a three-year program to raise teacher salaries to a level comparable to Norfolk, Chesapeake, and Suffolk in order to attract and retain quality teachers for Portsmouth's children.