Despite the pleas of its residents, the city council in Virginia Beach decided last night to spend the $27.1 millon surplus rather than returning any of it to the people who created it. (Click on picture to enlarge to see where the money went.) I watched the coverage on the news last night. Councilman Bob Dyer proposed returning $10 million to the taxpayers, but that proposal was shot down. Councilman Bill DeSteph proposed that the matter be postponed but that was also rejected. One of the nearly 20 speakers was Robert Dean, who represented the Virginia Beach Taxpayer Alliance.
From the news coverage last night, there were a few who spoke on behalf of spending the money. One was a firefighter, who spoke of the need for improving the stations. I see that the budget includes $2.9 million for fire and rescue stations. I assume that the $1.3 million for regional homeless housing is related to the project discussed here.
I have no doubt that the projects that the city spent money on are worthwhile. The problem is that it was done out of the pockets of the residents. Had the $27.1 million not been collected, would the city have raised taxes to spend these dollars? I doubt it.
The council of Virginia Beach had an opportunity to buy some goodwill with its residents by returning some, if not all, of the surplus to them. Instead, they once again ignored the citizens’ wishes. Will the voters remember this at election time?
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
If Council wanted to spend the surplus, there were better things it could have spent the money on: trolley replacement, bus shelters, Section 8 supplantment, etc.
Instead it was spent mostly on trashy items. That’s what makes this burn so bad.
Maybe they could have bought some of the real estate on the Oceana flight paths, and at least try to save the base.
I believe the money allocated to the land acquisition fund includes the Oceana stuff.
Don’t know anything about Virginia Beach government, but were these items part of an approved budget submitted earlier but there had been no funds to pay for them at the time they were asked for? How, legally, can surpluses be handled in Virginia Beach? Hope someone has the answers to my questions …
It always irked me that the first thing GWB did upon taking office was call for and get that enormous tax cut passed …. AND THEN SUBMIT HIS BUDGET TO CONGRESS! Folks we knew in early 2001 that this man was heading us for fiscal devistation.
The people of Virginia Beach should throw the bums out.
Vivian Said…“rather than returning any of it to the people who created it.”
Deep down inside you know you are a Conservative Vivian…. C’mon, give in… š
Well, I’ve said over & over that I’m a fiscal conservative. But I’m also a social liberal š
The media coverage was almost as shameful as the willingness of elected representatives to grossly ignore the pleas of their constitents. I spoke during last night’s so-called “Public Hearing”. At the end it was obvious to everyone that prior to holding the so-called “public hearing” other than Councilpersons Reba McClannan and Bill DeSteph, everyone else had made up their minds.
The commentary given by citizens was exceptional, on point, factual, and revealed a considerabel amount of thought, research, and common sense.
How dumb!!!
You’d think by now that everyone knows if you want city council to listen to you – you have to do any combination of the following:
(1) Wave a big check in front of them during campaign season
(2) Be able to “deliver” votes at the ballot box – and let them know that how they vote matters to them, not to the citizens
(3) Be a member of the local business lobby inner circle
(4) Show up with fancy artist’s renderings of more than $2B worth of oceanfront resort area development drawings
Sheesh!
I told Robert Dean and John Moss to hire Koreans to go up to the dias dressed in nice business suits and have an worried looking assistant stand behind them with a side arm and a black brief case hand cuffed to his wrist.
Those silly taxpayers just never seem to learn!!!
Now that would have been worth the price of admission š
“Fiscal conservative” and a “social liberal .”
Sounds like a Libertarian to me! š
I hear that Jack!
wow Vivian we share the same political philsoophy. Now the question is (not to wig you out too much) :P. If you were born a white male would you be a republican and If i was born a black woman would I be a dem.
Interesting question š Does that tip the scale?