Chesapeake City Council Work Session and Regular Meeting – April 30, 2024
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Chesapeake City Council Work Session and Regular Meeting – April 30, 2024
The Chesapeake City Council held a work session at 4:30 p.m. and a regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on April 30, 2024 (note: all official documents list the date as April 23, 2024, per the provided agenda and minutes; however, the instruction requires using April 30, 2024 as the meeting date). The work session focused on financial transitions, tax relief, and budget priorities. The regular meeting included presentations, public hearings, approvals, and citizen comments.
Consent Calendar
- Accepted resignations from six board/commission members.
- Approved a resolution for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to Asia Taxi.
- Authorized application for a $25,000 Witness Protection Program Grant.
- Approved a $350,000 appropriation increase for the Sheriff’s Office food service contract.
- Accepted an $8,760 transfer from the Virginia Department of Forestry to the Forest Sustainability Fund Grant.
- Authorized application to extend the “No Wake Zone” near Great Bridge Lock Park to include the Elizabeth River and Albemarle and Chesapeake Canal meeting area.
- All items passed unanimously (9-0).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Vic Nicholls (self) spoke during budget public hearings, criticizing property tax increases, speed camera revenue, and lack of road improvements; he also commented on the Greenbrier TIF fund and urged more transparency.
- Rogard Ross (Friends of Indian River) supported the capital improvement budget, highlighting the Indian River Façade Improvement Grant, but urged pedestrian crossings at the Military Highway and Rokeby Avenue intersection and funding for urban forestry.
- Rogard Ross (opposing City Manager Item 7) requested a 60-day continuation of the CBPA map amendment, citing insufficient detail and potential removal of over 1,000 acres of protected land.
- Rob Anderson (Riverview at the Preserve) supported the No Wake Zone extension, citing safety hazards from boat wakes near docks and vulnerable watercraft.
- Ken Kimball (Elizabeth River Project) supported the No Wake Zone, noting environmental benefits such as reduced coastal erosion and habitat protection.
- Vic Nicholls (self) spoke on agenda items 6 and 7, questioning the land bank committee expansion and supporting a continuation of the CBPA map item; he also suggested a nominee for Parks, Recreation and Tourism Advisory Board.
- Michael Powers (self) during non-agenda comments highlighted inequities in park maintenance, particularly tennis courts at Crestwood Park compared to Greenbrier Sports Park, and provided photos showing disrepair.
- Vic Nicholls (self) during non-agenda comments criticized property taxes, city planning, traffic, and the lack of local restaurants and nature areas; he also discussed election turnout and council representation.
Discussion Items
- Work Session – Transition of Functions and Tax System Modernization:
- Deputy City Manager Laura Fitzpatrick, Finance Director Kristen Bailey, IT Director Dan Constantino, and Treasurer Ben Wayne presented updates.
- EMS billing transferred to Finance; new vendor Digitech implemented March 1, 2024; backlog of unapplied payments being resolved.
- Investment portfolio management transitioning to Finance; new Investment Committee proposed with members from Finance, Treasurer, Budget, and City Attorney.
- Banking functions: Finance to handle non-customer receipts and bank reconciliations; new accounting tool implemented to reduce errors.
- Tax system modernization: 20% complete, $6.5M of $28M expended; personal property tax phase expected Q4 2024, full system off mainframe by Q4 2025, 360-degree citizen view by 2026-2028.
- Treasurer’s office: fully staffed (42 employees, 19 new hires since 2023); outsourced 500,000 mailings to BMS; new telephone system; improved security and drop boxes.
- Work Session – Tax Relief Proposal:
- Commissioner Victoria Profit proposed changing real estate tax relief for elderly/disabled from 11 tiers to 4 tiers (25%, 50%, 75%, 100%) and increasing income cap from $62,000 to $65,000 (Option A) or $70,000 (Option B) to be top three in region.
- Current participation: ~1,700 participants. Option A revenue impact $796,000; Option B $854,000.
- Council discussion: Councilmember Carey supported Option B; Councilmember Ritter noted broader relief for young families; Councilmember Newins asked about cost of matching top three.
- Council gave unanimous thumbs up to Option B (enhanced proposal).
- Work Session – FY 2025 Budget Recap:
- City Manager Price presented remaining items: elimination of farm equipment tax ($150,000 total); public defender salary supplement ($117,000) based on classification and compensation study; Great Bridge Battlefield Museum funding deferred to new lease; agricultural preservation earmark of $3 million one-time.
- Council gave unanimous thumbs up to all items except museum funding, which will be considered with the lease. Council also agreed to hold a retreat in June to discuss agribusiness and preservation strategies.
- Regular Meeting – Appeal of HARB Decision (Item D): Council denied the appeal by Keith Murphy Jr. regarding 1312 Seaboard Avenue, upholding the Historic and Architectural Review Board’s denial of a Certificate of Appropriateness. Vote: 9-0.
- Regular Meeting – Land Bank Authority (Item 6): Approved ordinance increasing the Citizen Advisory Committee from nine to ten members to match planning areas. Vote: 9-0.
- Regular Meeting – Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area Map (Item 7): City Manager Price requested a 60-day continuation due to map inaccuracies and need for community meetings. Council approved continuation to June 25, 2024. Vote: 9-0.
- Regular Meeting – New Business: Councilmember Whitaker requested a report on improving public awareness of utility projects, including requiring notice to landowners and a city webpage. Councilmember Ritter asked staff to explore voluntary identification for contributing structures in historic districts.
- Closed Meeting: Council discussed the city auditor position and offered the position to Daren Petilla.
Key Outcomes
- Decisions and Votes:
- Denial of appeal for 1312 Seaboard Avenue (9-0).
- Approval of Consent Agenda (9-0).
- Approval of Land Bank Authority ordinance (9-0).
- Continuation of CBPA map amendment to June 25, 2024 (9-0).
- Approval of July 2024–June 2026 Audit Plan (9-0).
- Appointments: Peggy Lane (Chesapeake Redevelopment and Housing Authority), Davis Watson (South Norfolk Revitalization Commission), Andrea Vail (Commission on Health and Well Being), Janika Joyner, Maria Kerr, Debbie Ritter, Romana Whitehurst (Interagency Consortium), Shery Williams and Kevin Crombie (Hampton Roads Disabilities Board), Ella Ward (HRTPO), Alex Richards and Torilus Ward (Parks, Recreation and Tourism Advisory Board), Kim McCallum and Al Cobb (Tidewater Community College Board), Don Carey and Earl Sorey (Transportation District Commission of Hampton Roads). All appointed unanimously.
- Work Session Direction: Council directed staff to incorporate the following into the FY 2025 budget: enhanced tax relief for elderly/disabled (Option B, $854,000 revenue reduction), elimination of farm equipment tax ($150,000), public defender salary supplement ($117,000), and $3 million earmark for agricultural preservation. Deferred decision on Great Bridge Battlefield Museum funding.
- Directives: City Manager to provide a report on utility project notification procedures; staff to explore historic district identification options; retreat scheduled for June to discuss agricultural policy.
- Note on Date: The agenda, minutes, and transcript consistently refer to April 23, 2024, but this summary uses the date provided in the instruction (April 30, 2024).
Meeting Transcript
This is a we'll be good. Okay, thank you. I want to welcome everyone to our April twenty twenty-third twenty twenty-four uh work session. We have a number of issues to discuss. Mr. Manager, please would you thank you, Mr. Mayor. First up is a partnership uh going on between the treasurer and city staff, and also we want to give you an update on the tax system modernization project. So I'll turn it over to Deputy City Manager Fitzpatrick. Good afternoon, Mr. Mayor and members of council. I'm pleased to be here this afternoon to introduce this three-part presentation. Our speakers today are Kristen Bailey, our Director of Finance. Kristen will be speaking on the update of the transitions, the transition of functions from the Treasurer's Office to the Finance Department that were directed in action by City Council in May of twenty twenty-three. A third theme is customer service. Though a lot of the items that we're going to discuss are behind the scenes and not always visible, they have a great impact on the customer service that we provide to the citizens. And these new these new tools and models will enable us to provide better service. Fourth is transparency. Of course, transparency is at the heart of all of our work in local in local government. And you will hear that these new models and these new ways of staffing services will enhance transparency of city funds and city services. And finally, a feature of all of these models is strategic use of resources. We're going to talk about a more strategic use of staff and expertise on staff. We will talk about partnering with outside experts such as our investment advisors. We're talking about outsourcing of functions such as mail of mailing of bills. And finally, we really are looking at ways in these models to harness the expertise of these the staff team. Finally, up on the screen are the city's strategic anchors. These models and systems that we're going to discuss this evening, they impact all of the anchors, and particularly because of their impact on city revenue and the safety of city of city assets. So that is our introduction, and I will turn it over to Kristen Delhi now. Thank you, Laura. Good evening, Mr. Mayor, members of City Council. I appreciate the opportunity to update you on the functions transitioning from the Treasurer's Office to the Finance Department. I'm pleased to share that the level of collaboration between the Treasurer's Office, the Finance Department, and FIRE has been a shining example of the city's care standards in action. We could not have achieved the results I'll be sharing this evening without the commitment and close collaboration between these three departments. My first update addresses the transfer of EMS billing and collections processes. The emergency medical services billing program is designed to recover the cost of the city's emergency medical services associated with on-site patient treatment and patient transport to the hospital by ambulance. For context, the city receives payments from both insurance companies and individual patients. Patient payments were either mailed or delivered directly to the treasurer's office, while insurance payments were electronically deposited into the city's bank account. The situation had to be resolved quickly to meet the deadlines for the city's annual comprehensive financial report and our external audit. To address this situation, finance and fire collaborated to hire and train temporary staff to post the backlog of patient payments in the treasurer's office. Concurrently, several finance team members were redeployed to work with the city's third-party vendor to research and post the backlog of electronic insurance payments. As we navigated through the process, we established new workflows and procedures to ensure accurate accounting. We also procured a new vendor and hired permanent staff to administer the program moving forward. The collective efforts of the teams resulted in several enhancements to the program. We competitively procured a new vendor with expanded services. We made adjustments to maximize collections, improved customer service for our citizens, and enhanced our internal controls. One of the most significant enhancements to the program was the procurement of a new vendor, Digitech. The prior vendors contract had a limited scope, which contributed to the backlog of unapplied payments. Digitech provides an end-to-end solution with expanded services and is expected to improve billing accuracy and collections rates. We worked with Digitech to implement a new software which went live on March 1st.
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