Monday, February 17, 2025

Mayor’s proposed budget changes: Fund the waterbird museum, raise salaries of employees whose subordinates earn more

VIRGINIA BEACH — Several citizens who aimed to offer criticisms of the city’s proposed 2017 budget at a public hearing Tuesday found they had few when they reached the microphone.

Mayor Will Sessoms nipped many in the bud when he read a list of changes to the spending plan, addressing several publicly raised concerns.

Among the most notable are:

  • Keeping monetary contributions to the Atlantic Wildfowl Heritage and the Old Coast Guard Station museums at 2016 levels. Staff at the waterbird museum feared the previously proposed 25 percent cuts would have been “devastating.”
  • Creating a two-year plan to give raises to supervising city employees who are paid less than their subordinates. The plan costs $850,000 a year and addresses a problem the police chief recently said was “demoralizing” for his department.
  • Keeping library funds for purchasing new books at the same level as the current fiscal year — a boost of $105,000 from the city manager’s original proposal.
  • Increasing raises for school employees to match those for city workers, resulting in an overall pay increase of 3.34 percent for both sets of workers.

Other changes include increased funding for more public safety officers and equipment; money to maintain operational hours of the city’s historic house museums; grants for nonprofits and city programs; and a $2 increase to the “Courthouse Maintenance Fee” on each civil action filed in court.

The 15 changes combine for an increase of about $4 million of expenditures. Sessoms said the money became available as the city realized it would receive more state funding in multiple areas.

Vice Mayor Louis Jones also signed the letter that listed the proposed changes. Sessoms said the two agreed on the alterations after lengthy public input.

After the letter was read, some people at the budget hearing left before speaking or thanked Sessoms when it was their turn to talk.

Others weren’t as satisfied and called on the Council to set a revenue neutral real estate tax rate, which would require a reduction in the rate. Under the city’s proposed budget, the rate remains the same, but tax payments will increase by an average of $86 per home because of rising property values.

The City Council is scheduled to vote May 10 on a final budget. The spending plan is for July 1 through June 2017.

Have a story idea or news tip? Contact City Hall reporter Judah Taylor at Judah@wydaily.com or 757-490-2750.

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