Minutes 03/30/2010 - Laserfiche WebLink

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March 30. 2010 At a Called Meeting of the City Council on Tuesday, March 30, 2010, there were present: Mayor James W. Holley III, Vice Mayor William E. Moody, Jr., Charles B. Whitehurst, Sr., Marlene W. Randall, Stephen E. Heretick, Elizabeth M. Psi mas, Douglas L. Smith, City Manager Kenneth L. Chandler. 10 - 149 - 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, 801 Crawford Street, 6:00 p.m., Tuesday, March 30,2010 for the purpose of the proposed Operating and Capital Improvement Plan Budgets. In addition, you may consider a motion to go into a Closed Meeting. By order of the Mayor." 1 0 - 150 - The following item was discussed in Public Work Session: 1. Presentation of Proposed Operating Budget and Capital Improvement Plan by Kenneth L. Chandler, City Manager As we transition into the second year of the FYI O-FY11 Biennial Budget, "Sustaining our obligations in a sea of uncertainty" continues to be the theme. Since we are a city committed to its citizens, we recognize that the uncertainties of resources and revenue streams should not ill-effect our obligations for municipal service to the community or to our financial prudence. This budget, which reflects direct impacts of declining local tax revenues and record- breaking reductions in aid from the Commonwealth of Virginia, is balanced without a real estate tax increase or establishing a stabilization tax rate, nor the use of fund balance. This proposed Operating Budget for FY11 is a supplement to the Biennial Budget approved by City Council as an operating plan in May 2009. The recommended balanced budget is $547,938,307 inclusive of all funds. In approaching the second year of the biennial budget cycle, we are focusing on the development of key performance measures. The long view that is inherent in a two-year plan insists on outcome-based budgeting, which links available dollars to priorities. Clearly, as available resources are even more scarce this fiscal year, it is imperative that the City evaluates the performance of each governmental service and dedicates resources for only those which produce the desired results. As an initiative for FY11, the City is installing a Performance Management program to accomplish this by more precisely evaluating services to attain the best outcomes from the shrinking revenues. State of the Economy In Portsmouth, we are but an example of the reality of the volatile state of the current economy. As the national debt continues to soar and as the state has experienced a $6 billion decrease to the general fund and, in turn, reduces funding to localities for education and many state-mandated programs, an increased demand is being placed on local dollars. Even as we brace for the federal and state funding reductions, in Portsmouth, our revenue-generating building projects and real estate valuations decline. At the time of this presentation, there are state and federal programs and revenue streams that have the potential of being reduced significantly or eliminated. We can make educated and calculated projections, yet we realize that continual state and federal funding is no longer a surety.