THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 2, 1995 TAG: 9503310194
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Ida Kay's Portsmouth
SOURCE: Ida Kay Jordan
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
The proposal to raise real estate taxes this year is no surprise.
At the risk of incurring the wrath of my friends and neighbors, I am going to say right out loud, ``It's about time.''
We've drifted through five years without a rate increase. Our assessments have gone up some but they generally have lagged behind those in other cities. The slow rise in values is unfortunate because demand for Portsmouth real estate has not kept pace with demand in neighboring cities.
Many senior citizens living on fixed incomes qualify for the tax freeze enacted last year, so they wouldn't get the increase. Those who have too much money to take advantage of the freeze can afford an extra $10 to $20 every three months.
The quarterly increase would not amount to the cost of one good restaurant dinner. The whole year's increase on most houses would not amount to the cost of two seats for one performance at Chrysler Hall or the Virginia Opera.
That's a price I'm willing to pay to give this city a chance to survive.
Portsmouth has so much to offer. It's a beautiful city with lots of wonderful people.
I don't like to pay that tax bill any more than anybody else, but because Portsmouth does have such potential, I'm willing to invest just a little more money in it.
If our taxes were out of line with those of our neighbors, there would be valid reason to question the wisdom of a rate hike. But we are right in sync with the others around here.
Our rate was $1.30 in 1987 and council dropped it back to $1.22 in 1988, a decision that probably has a lot to do with the city being in the hole right now. After two years, the rate went up to $1.32 in 1990, where it has stayed for five fiscal years.
Norfolk is $1.38 going into a budget that probably is going to require a tax increase. Chesapeake is $1.31 in mosquito districts, which is most of the city. Average middle-class houses cost a lot more in those cities than they do in Portsmouth.
As Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying, nothing is certain but death and taxes. And in modern times, except for a few isolated counties where residents demand far less service than we do, taxes are certain to go up.
The city manager has proposed to use the entire increase to pay for more police officers. Whether or not you believe that more cops on the streets will change crime statistics, you have to believe that increasing visibility of the police will be good for the city's image.
And most of us know it's the image-thing we have to work on.
I doubt there is a single City Council member who does not believe a tax increase is necessary at this time.
However, by now, most of them have heard vociferous complaints about the proposed tax increase. They will be pressured to back away from the increase. Some of their friends even will threaten to withhold their political support from those who vote for an increase.
A tax increase will put each one of them on a hot spot. They will have to build a better city quickly to prove the wisdom of a vote for a rate increase.
There's no doubt that if they don't build a better city, then they can expect to be removed from office. So can the city manager. That's the frightening climate of this country right now.
Building a better Portsmouth will take money. But moving this city also will demand real leadership and require decisions that may not be the most acceptable answers for some of the most vocal people.
I hope our council members will have the guts to vote for a tax increase and, in turn, to do what needs to be done to make this city better. by CNB