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| Portsmouth Mayor, Kenny Wright |
I'm
not sure if there are 10 things you need or want to know about
Portsmouth and its budget crisis.
But there are more than ten things
that could be done to shore up the city's finances.
First,
Mayor Kenny Wright and Portsmouth City Council Members should get
serious.
They
should waive their salaries and benefits for the next 12-months,
beginning July 1.
That's
a start.
Second, stop squawking about too much tax exempt land, not enough land, no money, too much rain, too much sun in Norfolk...hazardous waste at City Hall.
Instead, be grateful.
Be grateful to the state and the federal government for the money for public housing, for section 8 housing, for free school lunches, for apartments to house low-income residents, for grants to educate the city's children, for the tax credits to refurbish historical properties and communities, for generous grants from the Governor's Opportunity fund...For food stamps, for assistance for needy families and children.
Be grateful to the state and the federal government for the money for public housing, for section 8 housing, for free school lunches, for apartments to house low-income residents, for grants to educate the city's children, for the tax credits to refurbish historical properties and communities, for generous grants from the Governor's Opportunity fund...For food stamps, for assistance for needy families and children.
Portsmouth
City officials, including the mayor and the city council, have
choices they would rather not choose.
Their
choices so far have been politically expedient; they will muddle
through until elections next year.
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| Portsmouth - A House on Fire |
Portsmouth
officials are desperate to balance the city's budget by raising the
property tax; this is a mistake. Officials should be eliminating and
consolidating departments and laying off employees, starting at the
top.
Top
city and school employees (not teachers) should take five days of
unpaid leave. Don't start with the workers. Start with the employees
who have the highest salaries.
Stop
exempting churches from paying taxes.
Sell
city owned property.
Just do something. Even if you are doing nothing, act like you're doing something. Get an image consultant, if nothing else.
In
Portsmouth, poor by any measure, the city's elected officials are
making decisions based on their political career; City Council
members have put politics before the community. It hasn't gone
unnoticed by community advocates and voters.
The
sniping and scorn between city council members and government
officials in Portsmouth further erodes not only the image of
Portsmouth (already somewhat tarnished) but also confidence in
Portsmouth. The financial markets will frown (if they haven't taken
notice already) on a house divided; Portsmouth not only has a budget
crisis, it has a political crisis.
In
April, the city manager and the city attorney were fired and the
police chief, the finance director and the recently hired director of
economic development tendered their resignations.
Welcome
to Portsmouth.
Editor's
Note: Portsmouth City Council will consider the adoption of its
fiscal year 2016 budget at 7pm at City Hall.