Norfolk City Council voted to approve a more than $2 billion operating budget for fiscal year 2027 on Tuesday night.
But the council opted to push the vote on the city's $352.2 million capital plan to next week after residents from the eastern part of the city repeated concerns that the spending priorities don't reflect their neighborhoods, something they’ve been telling officials for the last month.
Councilman Tommy Smigiel said he planned to vote against the plan in response to the outcry. But the capital plan, which includes Norfolk’s long-term development projects, never made it to a vote.
The council opted to reexamine the plan and take it up again at its next meeting.
Smigiel said he talked to people in seven of his ten civic leagues about the budget prior to Tuesday's vote. He left those meetups concerned. “This has probably been the least transparent budget process I've ever seen in my 16 years,” he said during the meeting.
"There are some misconceptions in this budget, but there are also some things in there that are not necessarily a priority for citizens," he said. "My community understands that they have to pay taxes ... but we want those tax dollars to go to the things that are important to us."
Smigiel raised an issue with Norfolk using money that already belonged to Norfolk Public Schools to cover school maintenance costs. He added that City Manager Patrick Roberts and his staff should spend more time talking to citizens and hosting public forums in communities when drafting budgets.
For the first time since 2020, the budget doesn't rely on federal pandemic relief money, and there will be no increase in personal property taxes or property taxes.
East side oppoisition stalls long term spending plan
Residents of Norfolk's east side have been saying for weeks they feel their part of the city has been forgotten, ignored by city leaders in favor of downtown redevelopment.
The frustration centers on a promise Alexander made in last year's State of the City address for a combined fitness center and library, as well as redevelopment plan for Military Circle Mall.
Those promises were absent from the proposed five-year spending plan.
Meanwhile, $57 million over five years would be headed to the redevelopment of MacArthur Center downtown.
At an April public hearing, resident Dustin Wallace brought up a 50-year redevelopment plan for Military Highway that was approved in 2017. Nine years later, he said the area has more blight.
"We cannot have downtown tunnel vision at the expense of the rest of the city," Wallace said.
Shirley Smith, president of the Ingleside Civic League, read the mayor's own words back to him. She highlighted Ingleside Recreation Center being leased to a nonprofit organization and the Huntersville Pool closing with no reopening date.
"’Quality of life and community well-being are our top priority,’" Smith said, quoting the mayor.
Others raised concerns about spending for schools.
"We are investing more in the buildings for events than in buildings where our children learn," Bill Stockberger, a Lake Taylor Civic League member, said. "Broken promises erode trust.”
Some things that were approved Tuesday as part of the city's proposed FY 2027 budget incude:
- adding more than 30 new firefighter positions in an effort to implement a four-shift schedule,
- Chrysler Hall getting a $90 million upgrade starting this July,
- the Commonwealth Attorney's Office receiving an additional $500,000 for new staff specifically to support victims of misdemeanor crimes,
- and a dedicated team with improved equipment to focus on pothole repairs throughout the city.
Council plans to vote on the capital improvement plan at it's meeting on May 19.
