Posts Tagged ‘fees’

The REAL Reality Check: The citizens of Virginia Beach can no longer afford this city council. 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.

A summary of the journey illustrates how devious the City Council of Virginia Beach has been over the years. Read the rest of this entry »

Our Virginia Beach City Council is preparing the groundwork to convince all the tightfisted citizens and taxpayers of Virginia Beach for the need of the next real estate tax revenue grab. On Nov. 14^th, city staff presented the five-year forecast to our city council and again blames the forecasted deficit on the insufficient real estate tax revenue and proposes real estate tax rate increases to fix the problem. 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 »

The city council of Virginia Beach, when they vote on the operating budget for fiscal year 2011 in the next few weeks, will throw down a serious challenge to the citizens of Virginia Beach. Council will (in my opinion) adopt an operating budget that includes a real estate tax rate increase and a number of fee increases even though citizens are already struggling under a heavy tax burden. And, council will approve a $170 million Capital Improvement Plan for fiscal year 2011. Read the rest of this entry »

Can the citizens of Virginia Beach do a “Massachusetts Moment” in the next city Council election in November of 2010? Can they recognize that some citizens in the US have the strength of character and have made themselves aware of the overriding importance of the election and then acted courageously at the ballot box? Read the rest of this entry »