Norfolk council: do your job!

“I am reluctant to pull the council into this. But if we can help resolve this, we will try.”

The above quote came from Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim in an article today regarding the latest turf battle between Norfolk Commissioner of the Revenue Sharon McDonald and Treasurer Tom Moss. An inquiry has been launched into the release of confidential information by Moss in conjunction with the payment plans issue brought to light last month.

Moss and McDonald are constitutional officers and do not work for Norfolk City Council (despite the fact that part of their pay – and a significant amount of their employees’ pay – comes from the city). The are, however, bound by local ordinances. Guess who gets to do local ordinances? Why that would be Norfolk Council!

In the immediate instance of who has the authority to set up payment arrangements, Moss is exactly right: the city should pass an ordinance making it clear. That’s not being “pulled into” anything – that’s doing the job for which the Council was elected.

And while they are writing this one, let me suggest that they fix a couple of other ordinances that are on the books:

1. A $26 annual fee should not be $37. The city code should reflect the same basis for charges as for refunds. As of now, it does not, mainly because the code was not properly updated when Norfolk went from having city stickers to not having them.

2. Properly define business license classifications. Again, the city code was not properly updated when the business license classifications were changed by the General Assembly back in the ’90s. This has left the door wide open for the ongoing dispute between the CoR’s office and Norfolk retailers. (In an ideal world, the CofR would have to abide by the rulings of the Tax Commissioner, but I don’t think this is constitutional. If it is, put that in the ordinance, too.)

As a voter and a citizen, I have no right to ask for ordinance changes. The most I can do – and have done – is take up the issue with members of Council and hope that they will do the right thing and fix the ordinances. To date, Council has been unwilling to step up. Why they won’t is a matter of conjecture, but that they haven’t is inexcusable.

All I want from Council is for them to do their jobs. Is that too much to ask?