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.April 26, 1988
<br />
<br /> At a regular meeting ~f the city Council held on Tuesday,
<br />April 26, 1988, there were Present:
<br />
<br />Mayor Gloria O. Webb, Jack P. Barnes, E. G. Corprew, Jr.,
<br />L. Louise Lucas, J. Herbert Simpson, LaMar Williams,
<br />George L. Hanbury, II, City Manager, Steven Lieberman,
<br />Ci~t~ AttOrney. ~-
<br />
<br />Absent: J. Robert Gray
<br />
<br /> Rgv~ Richard E. Stahler, Pastor, Sweethaven Baptist Church,
<br />opened.~, · th~meeting~.. ~. with, _ prayer, followed by the Pledge of
<br />Allcg~ance~.~Ftag.~ ~'~ ~ .
<br />
<br />Mayor Webb welcomed all visitors in attendance.
<br />
<br /> Motion of Mr. Simpson and seconded by Mrs. Lucas, minutes of
<br />a special called meeting of March 29, 1988; minutes of a special
<br />called meeting of March 30, 1988; minutes of a special called
<br />meeting April 5, 1988; minutes of a callgd meeting of April 11,
<br />1988; minutes of a Public Hearing of April 11, 1988; minutes of a
<br />called meeting of April 12, 1988; minutes of a Regular Meeting of
<br />April 12, 1988, to be approved as received, and was adopted by
<br />unanimou~"~ ~
<br />
<br /> 88-169 - Presentation~'o-f ~ProclamatiCn ~o
<br />persons:
<br />
<br />the following
<br />
<br />"Respect For Law Week" received by Jack Collins, Vice President,
<br />Optimist Club and Les Bell, Board of Directors of Optimist Club.
<br />
<br /> 88~170 - Public Hearing on City Operating
<br />The following letter from the City Manager was
<br />
<br />Budget:
<br />submitted-.
<br />
<br /> "As requested by City Co~ncil, ~n~: in an effort to reflect
<br />the mood of the citizens of Portsmouth toward the real estate tax,
<br />and taxes in general, I propose no increase in any real estate or
<br />personal property tax rate. Such proposal has not been an easy
<br />tmsk~ The cooperation and understanding of each department head
<br />has been the key to continued service at an overall increase in
<br />the annual operating budget of only 3.58%!
<br />
<br /> The National League of Cities has reported that cities around
<br />the nation are facing critical budget shortfalls. From my
<br />discussions with other City Managers within the region, they have
<br />revealed that their communities will be considering %ax increases
<br />as well as cuts in operating costs by reductions in municipal
<br />services or postponement of needed improvements. Such shortfalls
<br />are not the result of economic recession, but a direct result of
<br />reductions in state and federal funds, as well as increasing
<br />mandates from state and federal agencies. If it were not for our
<br />aggressive econQm~ ~deye~opmeh~a~ivi~ies~, ~h~s message would be
<br />dismal indeed.
<br />
<br /> During the current budget review process, I have personally
<br />reviewed every line item of each department head's budget, many
<br />times, -in an effort to reduce operating expenses. As a result of
<br />this review, and further analysis by the Budget Review Committee,
<br />I can say that for "essential services," or those traditionally
<br />referred to as the basics o~ City government, costs have remained
<br />close to existing expenditures. Over $15 million has been cut
<br />from original department requests. Because of our efforts to
<br />fine-tune and quantify our methods of managing field operations,
<br />we have been able to contain costs and thus prevent spiraling
<br />increases in operating departments. Excluding the unusually large
<br />increase ~f mostly state funded positions in the Community
<br />Services Board, we have a net reduction of 1 position for total
<br />employment.
<br />
<br />
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