Archive for the ‘Virginia Beach’ Category

Our Virginia Beach City Council’s self-serving nonsense: “…budget deficits are primarily caused by reduced real estate tax revenues.”

Our Virginia Beach City Council continues with the same nonsense put forward years ago. In response to a citizen’s complaint about having to pay a trash pick-up fee while council is planning to spend huge amounts of our tax dollars on major projects – headquarters hotel, Dome Site and light rail – Mr. Hansen (Deputy City Manager) replied, “As we have seen a few of these type citizen objections I wanted to provide you an assessment of the real estate tax burden impact using this specific citizen’s circumstances. Please recall that our recent budget deficits are primarily caused by reduced real estate tax revenues.” Read the rest of this entry »

The Virginian-Pilot on Tuesday reported that the cost of the Laskin Road project in Virginia Beach increased by $12.5 million or about 45% over the original estimate. Deputy city manager, Dave Hansen, said that the additional cost is tied to an increase in the “footprint“ of the project. Mr. Hansen said that infrastructure projects are planned over three or four years, but engineers initially designed this project in a few months. Read the rest of this entry »

For a number of years, our Virginia Beach city Council has encouraged citizens to get involved and participate in various meetings to help determine future development of our city. Council continues to invite citizens to share their thoughts with promises that all citizens are important to council. Council promises that citizens comments and requests will be given serious consideration for inclusion in the final plans for redevelopment.

Is that promise a Grand Illusion? Let’s review the last several years. Read the rest of this entry »

“Can anybody here count to six?” That is a question asked by Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms according to the Virginian-Pilot as the mayor climbed aboard the Norfolk light rail Tide a few weeks ago. Apparently, our mayor is ready to ignore the resounding NO vote that Virginia Beach citizens spoke in the referendum several years ago. Read the rest of this entry »

Our Virginia Beach city Council is poised to demonstrate that they, our Mayor and council members, are ready to engage in more reckless spending or demonstrate that they hold the taxpayers in contempt.

Reckless or contempt, not a good choice. Read the rest of this entry »

Council, have you started planning for the future considering the planned, long term reduction of Navy presence and reduced military expenditures in Virginia Beach? When the Navy begins its long- planned drawdown, which will take place over a number of years, what will be the economic impact on Virginia Beach and especially on the real estate taxes and fees demanded from the taxpayers to pick up the difference? Read the rest of this entry »

Have the Political Power Centers in Virginia Beach taken full control of the government of our city? Is it too late now for the citizens of Virginia Beach to take that power back and once again establish control of our own government?

Yes, it probably is too late, but we must try one more time. Read the rest of this entry »

The long journey throughout the last 12 years from the first questions about the old Pavilion to the current decision to proceed with a headquarters hotel for a convention center has been an especially devious journey. The trek began in the late 1990s and has included a number of decision points all of which puts the Virginia Beach City Council in a position, by spending more citizens money, to build the headquarters hotel for the convention center. Read the rest of this entry »

Wow! A huge $238 million backlog of storm water projects; we’re on course for failure; and a potential deep hole that we can’t get out of. Read the rest of this entry »

There they go again. Our Virginia Beach City Council, as reported by the Virginian-Pilot March 2^nd, continues to complain that “its too early in the city’s budget process to know” how much to take from the school system and also that, “we don’t know where the city of Virginia Beach is at the moment.” Read the rest of this entry »