May 11, 2007
City Council: May 1 Minutes, May 15 Agenda
Read the minutes here. Read the agenda here. Among other agenda highlights:
Adoption of City allocation to Petersburg Public Schools; Introduction of FY08 budget ordinances and tax rates (to be adopted in June); Consideration of qualifying High St Lofts for VHDA financing; 2nd reading for “Life through Literature” and “Arts for Everyone” program funding. Etc.
From Phil Cheney, President of Historic Poplar Lawn Association’s Board
From Sylvia Jones, of Legal Aid Justice Center’s JustChildren program.
I am excerpting a statement made by the mayor at the council meeting because I think it may be an important indication of her views about Petersburg. While I agree that citizens should be involved in the decisions about their community, and how these decisions affects their lives, I am concerned that she seems to take a shot at those who may counsel Petersburg about the ways in which it can best direct its future. Is this a criticsm of R/UDAT and LISC? I hope not. Further, her comparison of Petersburg with Hopewell as both being rental communities is discouraging. Not in the simple factual statement but because it seems to imply that this is Petersburg now and it will be for the future. If Petersburg remains a largely rental community it will remain a troubled community.
“Mayor Mickens stated that she regrets sincerely that so many people left from the meeting before discussion of the most important items that face the community. She stated that it is the people who help the City to better the community. She stated that citizens who do not live here nevertheless come to the City of Petersburg to tell us the City needs to do with their money. She stated the City of Petersburg is a rental community like to Hopewell.”
I think perhaps this was her ham-handed effort to state that folks who work in the schools yet live outside the city are making an attempt to influence policy that is outside the purview of the school board.
What the rental rate has to do with anything I do not know.
Granted it would be better if the rental rate were lower, it is not necessarily a bad thing. I’ve noticed new units being built on crater road behind some of the store along the road and any newer units that are well maintained and occupied can only be a plus for the city.
It is the run down units that need to be addressed. Property owners need to have incentive to clean up their acts. This will help with the blighted look of our neighborhoods and then they can charge a better rental rate, property tax assessments would go up and the city would benefit. Better for everyone all around. I think perhaps tax abatements at first for the property owners with a several year sunset would be the way to go.
Michael — the minutes are quite truncated (as I imagine it isn’t practical for the clerk to record every utterance made over the course of a meeting that can go on to midnight — another reason to look into videotaping the meetings and either airing them on local TV, leaving a copy of the tapes at the local library, or similar). My take from attending the meeting was that while many people came to the meeting, a good number skipped out after line items early on the agenda were discussed, thereby missing the public discussion on tax assessments and tax rates. The Mayor commented that as the collection and distribution of taxes is among the most important of subjects, it was unfortunate that while non-residents come to say how tax monies should be spent, residents aren’t more involved in sharing with Council how they’d like tax monies to be raised (tax rate) and distributed. Or so was my understanding of her untruncated statement.
Ah, and on the subject of rental rates — it seemed to me that the point was that it is hard to compare Pburg’s salaries (teachers, emergency personnel, etc.) to those of, for example, Prince George, as both the income and expense sides of Pburg’s budget are quite different from those of Prince George…we have less tax revenues and more social programs to fund…(?)
I appreciate the opportunity for clarification & dialogue this site offers. I am yet concerned about classification of Petersburg as a rental community. Of course I believe that citizens should have the opportunity to rent homes and apartments. That is one part of sensible mixed-use in all ommunities. But, when rentals comprise the majority of the housing stock, housing values go down, the educational system deteriorates and economic development is impeded. A micro example is condo complexes: when any given condo development becomes majority rental, lenders refuse or are hesitant to offer mortgages in that development.
Jonathon Elliot, Managing Director of Sycamore Rouge, writes the following about the proposed Arts for Everyone program, which will be discussed at Tuesday’s Council meeting:
On the subject of making video of the Council meetings publicly available†for those who are unable to attend the meetings:
City of Richmond posts videos of some of their meetings online; for an example, check out†this link.
A summary of the region’s†proposed budgets and of the region’s salary increases to government employees in the RTD.
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Tight budgets aren’t just a local problem… Cuts in state budget possible [via RTD].