Council Hears City Budget Concerns

Members of the public had an opportunity last night to address the City Council over for the city of Fredericksburg. Despite , most of the public comments concerned funding levels for non-city agencies and regional programs which receive, or want to receive, city funding. 

The City Council heard from representatives and supporters of more than a dozen different non-city agencies, including Safe Harbor, Senior Visitors Program, the Central Rappahannock Regional Library, the Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center, the Rappahannock Area Health District, the Disability Resource Center, the Rappahanock Area Agency on Aging, the Bluemont Concert Series, Hope House and Michah Ecumenical Ministries, among others. 

Unfunded Agencies Ask for Second Chance

Among the first groups to address the council last night was Safe Harbor, an agency which helps streamline the investigative process which underage crime victims and witnesses are subjected to. The agency had requested $5,000 from the city, but their request was left out of next year's proposed budget.

Labravia Jenkins, commonwealth's attorney for the city of Fredericksburg, was on hand to contextualize Safe Harbor's funding request. She said that the agency performs a vital role for young victims and has almost become an extension of the commonwealth's attorney's office and other social service agencies which deal with young victims of sexual assault and abuse. 

"Your staff in my office use Safe Harbor as a place to do our necessary jobs," Jenkins told the council. "We frequently have children who are witnesses or victims of crime. Those children should should not be shuttled across the city of Fredericksburg and across the region so we can do our jobs."

Representatives from SERVE, another agency left unfunded in next year's proposed city budget, also appealed to the City Council for money. SERVE, which stands for Stafford Emergency Relief through Volunteer Efforts, provides emergency food and financial assistance to the needy. The program currently receives funding from only one local government, Stafford County. SERVE had requested a $10,000 from city officials. Without going into specifics, SERVE representatives attested to the effectiveness of their programs in the community.

"Our numbers are so strong, to not be funded is quite amazing, honestly." said Marilyn Stevens, executive director for SERVE. 

Elected Officials Note Social Service Needs

 The majority of the speakers last night were representing non-profit social service agencies, a fact which was not lost on members of the City Council. Overall, the city's proposed budget splits $238,600 between 15 non-city human service agencies. 

This is the third budget cycle which Ward 1 Councilor Brad Ellis has been through. He says that when he first got to City Council, at the height of the recession, he was only concerned with funding core services like police, fire, and public works. Since then, Ellis says he has come to realize the importance of the work performed by non-city social service agencies. 

"They provide services which make us a community," said Ellis.  

Ellis says he will propose moving money from the $11,450 currently proposed for the Fredericksburg Regional Alliance to fully fund Safe Harbor and Rappahannock Legal Services. 

"The social needs seem to be increasing," said Mayor Thomas Tomzak after the meeting. Informed by his experiences as a Gynecologist with the Rappahannock Area Health District, Tomzak said that poor family planning stands out as one of the primary causes of increased needs for social services. 

"There are real problems across Planning District 16 with irresponsible decisions by women and appalling decisions by men," said Tomzak. 

With that in mind, Tomzak said he'd be in favor of moving money around to more fully fund some social service agencies which serve children. 

"I'd like to increase funding for a child oriented social safety net, like Head Start and the Boys and Girls Club," said Tomzak. 

Tax Hike, Other Budget Proposals Receive Little Attention

Only two people, former city councilor Matt Kelly and Raymond Herlong, used the public hearing to address issues other than specific line item funding for non-city agencies. Next year's budget proposal calls for an increase in the property tax by four cents to 72 cents per $100 of land value, as well as the hiring of three new positions within the city government, and an increase in total spending. 

Kelly accused the city of presenting a budget which doesn't take into account costs associated with a proposed new court facility and other infrastructure projects which the city is considering embarking upon over the next few years. It's a common mantra for Kelley, who fears that the proposed big money infrastructure projects will force increases in tax rates which local residents and businesses could be unable to shoulder.

"How are we going to pay for all of this? That's the question," said Kelley to the City Council. "You owe us that conversation sooner rather than later."

His statements were echoed by Herlong, who criticized proposed bonuses for full time non-school municipal employees, pay increases for teachers and the addition of several new city government positions as fiscally irresponsible. 

"These are not bad times, but neither are they good times for many of this city's citizens," said Herlong. "Now is the time for belt tightening, not expansion."

Councilor George Solley disagreed, saying after the meeting that one cannot forecast budget revenues to the degree demanded by critics. He also pointed to the city's AA-plus bond rating as a testament to the city's fiscal responsibility.

"I think that the people of Fredericksburg have recognized that the city has held the line for the last few years," said Solley. "There is deferred maintenance and jobs that are left unfilled. At some point you have to replace them."

A full copy of Fredericksburg's proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2012 can be downloaded here.