Minutes 04/21/1992 - Laserfiche WebLink

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April 21, 1992 A police officer on every corner is hardly the answer. Not only is that impractical from a financial standpoint, it is probably an ineffective way to deal with the root issues. Programs such as Community Diversion Incentive (CDI), Intensified Drug Enforcement Association~ (IDEA) and Crime Line are innovative efforts used tc detect and deter crime. These programs and others like them will continue to'be the cornerstone of Portsmouth's mcbilikat~on of private'citizens and public funds to actively combat the scourge. Street crime in all its manifestations must be dealt with head on. When I hear about ~ Portsmouth citizen or City employee affected by crime, I take it personally. Only-when we all take crime personally can we present an effective deterrent. Clearly, our focus must continue to be on those forces which are shaping our Portsmouth community for tomorrow. We must be conservative with our finances, competitive in our educational system, creative and aggressive in our economic development opportunities, protective of our neighborhoods and innovative in our means to provide for the public safety. EMPLOYEE BENEFITS Last year, there was no general wage increase for employees. This year, I am extremely pleased to make a recommendation which benefits all of our employees. I am recommending a 5% general wage increase effective July 1, 1992. Although there will be no step increase, the City will bear the cost, once again, of the increase in health insurance premiums for employees. Currently, members of the Portsmouth Retirement Systems (i.e., Fire and Police Retirement System and the Portsmouth Supplemental Retirement System) are covered under a Portsmouth group life plan. These employees are eligible for coverage under the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) group life plan if, as a group, they elect to switch to the VRS group plan. I intend to offer an election to these employees as to whether or not to switch to the VRS group life plan in lieu of their present group life insurance. Beginning with the new fiscal year, the City will provide a legal services group plan for employees, at no cost to the City. For a one-time enrollment fee of $5 and a monthly premium of $12, participating City employees will be eligible to receive the full range of legal services covered by the plan at no additional cost'. These benefits are an affordable reward for the hard w~rk and extra efforts which have resulted following workforce reductions, reorganizations and consolidation of duties under the Workforce Management Initiative. My expectation is that our employees will continue to cooperate with workforce reductions while providing the greatest satisfaction and excellent service to our citizenry. STORMWATER UTILITY FEE New and stringent regulations by both state and federal governments governing stormwater are creating growing responsibilities for the City, resulting in increasing costs. The City is currently conducting extensive engineering studies and developing a comprehensive stormwater management plan in accordance with federal regulations. Federal standards, which have yet to be fully developed, will likely require actions to reduce pollutants in stormwater run-off.