Norfolk council adopts $1.6 billion budget, includes 2-hour free parking
Council members approved the $1.6 billion operating budget, a $260 million capital improvement plan, a $6.7 million annual plan for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development block grants and a $141 million annual grants plan. Council members voted to unanimously approve the capital improvement plan.
'I know that this is not a perfect plan, and everybody didn't get everything, but I do believe that we're moving in the right direction,' said council member Carlos Clanton during the meeting.
The budget keeps all city tax rates the same. The current real estate tax is $1.23 per $100 of assessed value and the personal property tax for vehicles is $4.33 per $100 of assessed value.
However, the budget includes a $5-a-month increase in the garbage collection fee to offset recycling program cost increases and beach collection costs.
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The budget reconciliation process added about $1 million in additional expenditures, including additional fire department positions, downtown holiday lighting and additional funding to Norfolk Public Schools to reflect additional revenue under a revenue-sharing formula. Additional revenue to balance the budget comes from revised revenue estimates and federal and state sources.
The reconciliation process also expanded plans for a free parking pilot program in all downtown Norfolk parking decks from the first hour to the first two hours. The city plans to pay for the initiative by increasing the costs of downtown parking meters by 50 cents each quarter of an hour for a $2 hourly increase. Current meter rates vary by location.
The capital improvement plan includes $44 million for the city's flood wall project, called the Coastal Storm Risk Management Project, in addition to other projects like beach re-nourishment, community park improvements and a new playground at Crossroads School, among other initiatives.
Trevor Metcalfe, 757-222-5345, trevor.metcalfe@pilotonline.com
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