The Virginia Beach City Council successfully executed that two-step manipulation: Pressured the city school board to join in the request for the real estate tax rate increase that council wanted and burying the DeSteph/Moss budget proposal under a substitute motion. Now our Virginia Beach City Council has moved on to the next (creepy – insulting?) manipulation. Read the rest of this entry »

Our Virginia Beach City Council has presented the citizens of Virginia Beach with a perfect example of political manipulation. In a well orchestrated two-step process, Council pressured the city school board to join in the request for the real estate tax rate increase that council wanted. Then several council members conspired to bury the DeSteph/Moss budget proposal under a substitute motion.

Read the rest of this entry »

After the last two Virginia Beach City Council meetings (April 24^th and May 1^st) I can easily imagine many council members saying to the citizens of Virginia Beach, “Well citizens of Virginia Beach, how do you like that?”

During the Virginia Beach City Council meeting of April 24^th , our council said to the citizens we will have a referendum on light rail in November. Don’t like it? Too bad. And, council decided to keep the election process as is. Don’t like it ? Too bad. At the May 1^st meeting, the mayor and a number of council members proposed a $.06 increase in our real estate tax rate. And the mayor claims to have enough votes for that increase. Don’t like it? Too bad.

Getting the message yet?

In your face – citizens of Virginia Beach. It’s Mayor Sessoms way – period.

Take the light rail referendum issue. Have you any idea what that phrase “all reasonable” means? What do you know about light rail – what are the costs? Are benefits to all citizens? Are you, citizens of Virginia Beach, ready to vote on a referendum in November that may obligate you to supporting light rail? Many questions. Can you answer any?

The election process. The discussion is: Change the election process so that only those citizens in each of the seven districts would vote for their district candidate and the at large candidates. The candidates would campaign only in his/her district and be able to campaign with less money. A significant advantage is that the candidate would not have to rely on the well-heeled developers for funds and therefore would not be subject to those same developers when it comes time to vote.

Council wants to keep the process as is.

Real estate taxes. Raising the tax rate from $.89 to $.95 OK with you? Several city council members have said that the Virginia Beach budget can be balanced without raising our real estate taxes. Are you aware of that? Many council members are ready to add a tax increase on top of the other recent fee increases when citizens are already hurting and the continuing decline in assessments (losing value in our homes).

Remember that a light rail referendum, keeping the election process the same and raising our real estate tax rate are all to the advantage of some council members and their developer supporters.

Getting the message yet?

In your face, people.

Citizens of Virginia Beach, would you like a nice big bowl of jelly beans? That is basically how our Virginia Beach City Council will fashion the referendum question about light rail. Don’t concern your pretty little self about the cost of the jelly beans, just help yourself and don’t worry about the cost of the jelly beans.

Instead, the referendum on light rail should include, if not specifics, a reasonable estimate of costs involved. Read the rest of this entry »

The economic future of Virginia Beach is either precarious and cause for concern or reasonably stable and we‘re basically OK. That is, we are poised for growth or we are not. Review the factors and you decide. Read the rest of this entry »

The REAL Reality Check: The citizens of Virginia Beach can no longer afford this city council. Read the rest of this entry »

Is tourism, as managed by the City Council of Virginia Beach, a reliable economic engine?

A number of council members and others claim that tourism is an economic engine that provides a net benefit to the city in terms of employment and tax revenue. There are others who disagree with that claim and hold that tourism, as managed by the city Council on Virginia Beach, is in fact not a reliable economic engine. Read the rest of this entry »

Currently, Virginia Beach has a very broad range of jobs. The most important economic engine, the military, has maintained an important large percentage of well paid people in the area for many years. As the military and military related jobs decline over the next several years will that broad range of jobs be sufficient to generate equivalent tax revenue? Read the rest of this entry »

The citizens of Virginia Beach are being conned by our own unscrupulous city Council. Our magnificent statesman and women (a little sarcasm there) of our Virginia Beach City Council are requesting (hammering?) the School Board to join in requesting a real estate tax increase.

How did we get into this absurd nonsense? Why would council try to force the School Board to request higher taxes? Read the rest of this entry »

Our military has been the major economic engine in Hampton Roads and especially for Virginia Beach for a decade and more. Will the military continue to be a steady economic engine for Virginia Beach for the foreseeable future? Read the rest of this entry »