Minutes 05/02/1989 - Laserfiche WebLink

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May 2, 1989 I~have recomme.nded the addition>of four new positions in Emergenc~ Services and Communicatfons; The.se posit~o~s will allow adeq~ater-st~ff~ing to improve public safety d~spatching and the saf~y~f-0u~ officers.> .Ink,addition, i~'Septem~ 1989 the Enha~ced~91t<System willlbeceme operational pro~iding . automatic telephone number identification by location.~ Unfortunately, because of budgetary constraints, it is necessary te'delay~'t~e acquisition ~f the Computer~Aided Dispa~c~i~g~S~s~:e~ (CADS) b~ One,year .... ~ ~'_ As you are aware', the fourth<~ircuit Court Judge will be seated in July. Included in this proposed budget is adequate funding to support this judgeship-as well as a new secretary's position. I ful!y expect that~the ~fundi~g support ~ovided will position %h~ ~¢ourt to promptly execute the f~ll scope, of its responsibilitY- i ~Along.with~the support to~the3~irc~.i~.~ ~ Court, the~Sta~C~mpensation'BOa~ has~approved~One'~addi%iOnal Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney and a Legal Secretary. AS yo~'~lI~'.recalt, after your approval of~the ~ur~ent year's bud~et,,y©u a~thorized 19 additional positions in~thei Sheriff's Department. The Compensation Board has agreed to~ fund these positions, and I am recommending to continue with the same level,-~of funding to deal w~th overcrowding conditions .~ :~. ~<~,~ .Public Transportation · A major-in~ease, over 35%, is anticipated in. theiCity'S contribution to Tidewater Regional Transit (TRT). True transit costs have risen-much less than that, only 6.6%-, bu~ the~impact on the City's ~peration~ budget is magnified due~ to the. depletion.'~f~ fa~in~ from accumu;lated credit i~ the~past~ budgets. Increased State assistance in prior years cushioned localities from much of the impact of rising transit costs. But as State ald has leveled off, and as Federal aid has been decreasin~ thro~hout the 1980'S, the only additional sources of fundfng h'ave been from the .fare box and from lecal subsidy. When the tolls.were li~fted from the Downtown Tunnel, the City lost a $250/000 a~nnUal tran~sit contribution from the State which.was funded from toll revenue. The fare was increased in 1987-88', fr~m~70~I to 80~, and 'further increases will be~ considered by TR ~n the future. Tax Relief for Elderl~ ahd Disabled Although this year's budget constraints preclude an adjustment to the current scales in effect for the Real Estate Tax Relief Program, growing proportions of elderly and disabled homeowners 'have significantly behe-fited from this program in recent years. As a result of the annual increments ~or the respective income and assets guidelines which have'been approved, by City.Council in each of the last five years, a huge influx of ~quali~ied applicants has been added ~o our rolls. During that period of time,~ the ~eliqible population has~rown from 530 households to 850 households, an increase of 62%. This percentage also is representative Of %he overal% change in the income standards from $10,000 to $16,000. These formidable results are even more noticeable given-the fact that~ the average value o~ tax abatement ~er h~usehold has grown from $216 to $400, an increase of 85%! Total cos~ for this ~r~gram now exceeds $340,000.