Minutes 04/10/1979 - Laserfiche WebLink

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187 April 10, 1979 "The recommended operating budgets for the City of Portsmouth, Virginia for the 1979-80 fiscal year were presented to you last Tuesday night at the public conference which was held in the Council Chambers. Copies of the budget document have been available for viewing by the public at each of the City's librar~ locations and in the City Clerk's office for over a week, and newspaper advertisements have given notice of tonight's public hearing. The recommended operating budgets for 1979-80 have been prepared on the basis of service~ being continued~genera]ly at their current levels. The operating budget for the General Fund is recommended ak $64,965,866, which is about $4 million less than the total requests from the departments. The recommended level includes the appropriation of $2,010,623 as a Council contingeAcy from the available fund balance. When this item is adjusted from the total recom- mended operating budget, the General Fund reflects a 7.6 percent increase over fiscal 1978-79 operations, which in turn, reflected a 7.8 percent increase over the preceding fiscal year. I am submitting the £oll~wing gene.ral.~comments concerning the proposed budget £or your information and discussion: (2) (3) (4) The recommended operating budget includes a recommended drop in the real estate tax rate of 2 cents from the current ~1.30 to $1.28 per one hundred dollars of assessed value. On average, the recommended tax rate Would result in'_a 7.6 percent increase in the tax levy. The recommended ate will partially offset the impact of reassessments which total nea~'ly $i00 Aill~on dolla~s.city~wAde~ or 9.3 percent. The recommended budget includes a 5 cents per 1,0OO gallons ncrease in the water rate to be. effective September 1, 1979, on consumption after that date. On an average consumption of 20,000 gallons per quarter, the insrease from 55 to 60 cents per 1,000 gallons will result in an increased bill of $1.00 per quarter, or 33 cents per month. The rate increase is necessary to maintain the water system on a self-sustaining basis. Although the Public Utility Fund reflects only a 2 percent ~ncrease over the1978-79 operating level, the current year's operation were funded in part from the system's retained earnings. It should be emphasized tha~ this increase is recommended based on the revenue needs of the utility system, and does not reflect any recommended increase whatsoever in the rate of return on investment to the General Fund. An increase in incinerator rates is recommended from $5.50 to $6.75 per ton. The rate increase would impact the~ rates charged to commercial haulers and customer's served by the City's commercial refuse service. The residential collection fee would not be changed. The rate increase is recommended based on a review of incineration and landfill costs. The review revealed that costs for inclne~ating and landfilliAg solid waste total $11.19 per ~on. This reflects an increase over the $8.42 per ton cost of three years ago. The increase is due primarily to the maintenance requirements of the 18 year old incinerator. At about the mid-point of the fiscal year, it will be necessary to increase monthly and short-term parking rates in order to provide sufficient funds to the Parking Authority for the fiscal year. It is anticipated that the rate increase will go into effect January 1, 1980. The Portsmouth Parking Authority is in the process of reviewing the rate structure, and will render a decision thereon prior to the end of the calendar year. A 5 percent general wage increase is recommended for all employees suoject to the City's Pay and Classification Plan to be effective September 1, 1979. In addition, a restructured ingrade progression of $ percent on anniversary date is re.co~mended to offset the compacting effect the Federal minimum wage law is'~having on the current Pay Plan. The salary increase for those employees whose salaries are administered under the City Pay Plan would average about 6.7 percent over the next fiscal year. There is a net increase of 17 positions in the General Fund recommended for 1979-80. Of those 17 positions, 9 are currently being funded under the CETA program. Due to the wage level limitations of the CETA program, the functions per,formed by the employees in those positions can no longer be funded under the CETA p~ogram. As I have indicated before, in re~enacting the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act the Congress restristed eligibility and employment criteria such ~hat all new hires must be unemployed 10 to 15 weeks, and economically disadvantaged. Persons employed under the program can stay in the program only 18 months and be paid no more than $10,O00. In addition, the starting salary for all new hires after April 1, 19?9 must average no more than $6,636 in Portsmouth. It is as a consequence of the program's restrictions, and in an effort to maintain services in vital areas, that these new positions have been recommended this year. As the 1979-80 year progresses and the impacts of the changes in the CETA program become more apparent, some of the services which currently are being provided salary by CETA may need to be addressed. At the pres.ent time, there is an unallocated fund balance of $4,020,623 in the General Fund. The 1979-80 Operating Budget as recommended utilizes $2,O10,OOO of the fund balance for operations. The remaining balance of $2,O10,623 is appropriated as a Council Contingency. The utilization of those funds would be made only if authorized by the City Council. The Council