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Record of Proceedings

Portsmouth City Council Meeting: 2026 Legislative Initiatives (2025-10-27)

City Council — Monday, October 27, 2025
BodyPortsmouth, Virginia
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, October 27, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:28:18

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
1:06

I might uh you know what I need to choose my own thing.

5:24

Formally do something probably tomorrow.

5:26

Okay.

5:27

Council meeting.

5:28

Very well.

5:29

Thank you.

5:30

It's been a pleasure.

5:32

I'm sure.

5:34

No one should be able to speak.

5:35

We'll have to do that.

5:37

100%.

5:38

Madam Clerk.

5:39

Yes, sir.

5:40

Would you please call the room?

5:42

Miss Bryant.

5:42

Present.

5:43

Mr.

5:43

Dr.

5:44

Dotson.

5:44

Present.

5:45

Mr.

5:45

Hugo.

5:46

Present.

5:46

Mr.

5:47

Moody.

5:47

Here.

5:48

Miss Thomas.

5:49

Here.

5:49

Mr.

5:50

Tillich.

5:51

Here.

5:51

Mayor Glevin.

5:52

Here.

5:55

And so we today for our agenda item is the post 2026 state and federal legislative initiatives.

6:03

And we have here with us our team member, Miss Sherry Neal, who is our intergovernmental affairs manager.

6:10

Miss Sneal, you have the floor, ma'am.

6:12

Thank you, Mayor.

6:13

And good evening.

6:15

Mayor Glover.

6:16

Vice Mayor Moody, Honorable Members of Council, Deputy City Manager Coleman, City Attorney Ram, Madam Clerk.

6:27

It's my pleasure to be before you this evening to share with you the recommendations of the Portsmouth City Council Legislative Advisory Committee for Initiatives for the 2026 state and federal legislative initiatives.

6:40

And before I delve into this, I just wanted to give a special thanks to council for creating this committee.

6:47

The members of council that have on there now and passed our staff that are on there, the city leadership has been a tremendous help in creating a much more dynamic and diverse legislative package than we've had for many many years.

7:03

So I I personally thank you guys for doing this and creating this.

7:07

And thank you for all of you who serve.

7:11

It's been a great team effort.

7:14

So moving forward.

7:16

Not to be so again, I said I'm presenting on behalf of the committee this evening, and I'm going to share with you our recommendations for council adoption of our state legislative uh initiatives and budget amendments, as well as we have some things for the federal initiatives.

7:33

We'll go over some next uh important dates and next steps and the questions and answers that you may have.

7:48

So starting with the legislative initiatives, we have five legislative initiatives that we're recommending.

7:55

Uh the first one is um the issue there is there is a need for the city to exhibit better control over special use permits in the city.

8:05

Um we're looking to enhance the oversight of special use permits by adding another tool and zoning's toolbox to help to um prevent their misuse.

8:16

The city of Port Smith uh we're requesting that the General Assembly amend uh this particular code section, adding Portsmouth to the cities of Hampton and Norfolk, which quote may impose condition upon any special exception or use permit relating to retail alcoholic beverage control licenses, which provides that such special exception or use permit will automatically expire upon a change of ownership of the property, a change in possession, a change in the operation or management of a facility, or the passage of a specific period of time.

8:54

The next item here, the next four items are dealing with public safety.

8:58

These are all to enhance and help our public safety members in Portsmouth and statewide.

9:06

The first one, the issue there is there's a need for public safety departments throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia to provide relief and support in addressing temporary detention orders, TDOs, and emergency custody orders, ECOs.

9:20

For over ten years, public safety departments have needed support with TDOs and ECOs execution.

9:26

Although some pilot programs for alternative transportation providers were established, no permanent solution has been implemented.

9:33

Staff shortage shortages worsened strains as officers spend extended periods of time executing these orders impacting their ability to serve communities.

9:48

So all we need to be leave to our public safety departments by passing legislation enabling the employment of approved retired law enforcement officers to specifically provide transportation and processing services for people subjected to TEOs, DCOs.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Pending Litigation█████████████████████████████████████████████52%
Public Safety█████████████15%
Procedural███████8%
Public Engagement██████7%
Homelessness████5%
Affordable Housing███4%
Legislative Initiatives███3%
Budget Equity Analysis███3%
Transportation Safety█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Portsmouth City Council Meeting: 2026 Legislative Initiatives

On October 27, 2025, the Portsmouth City Council convened to review and adopt recommendations from the Legislative Advisory Committee regarding the 2026 state and federal legislative initiatives and budget amendments. The meeting featured a comprehensive presentation by Intergovernmental Affairs Manager Sherry Neal, followed by detailed deliberation on public safety measures, capital improvement funding, and policy positions on regional issues such as pop-up events and prison reform. The Council expressed strong team effort and thoughtful engagement, ultimately proceeding to a closed session for legal consultation regarding specific legal matters and the interim city attorney position.

Consent Calendar

  • No items were explicitly listed as routine consent calendar items; all agenda items were discussed and debated in the main session.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No specific public comments or testimony from members of the general public are recorded in the provided transcript. The discussion was limited to council member questions and responses from staff.

Discussion Items

  • Special Use Permits: Staff recommended legislation to amend the code to allow special exceptions for retail alcoholic beverage licenses on special use permits to automatically expire upon a change of ownership, possession, operation, management, or after a specific time period. This would add Portsmouth to the list of Hampton and Norfolk, enhancing oversight to prevent misuse.
  • Temporary Detention Orders (TDOs) and Emergency Custody Orders (ECOs): Staff proposed legislation allowing public safety departments to employ approved retired law enforcement officers to provide transportation and processing services for individuals subjected to TDOs and ECOs, addressing staff shortages and the strain on current officers.
    • Position: Councilman Tillers suggested adding the loss of concealed pistol permits for violations, noting this is currently a court-determined process.
  • Firearm Safety: A recommendation was made to create a Class 2 misdemeanor for leaving a firearm in an unlocked vehicle, punishable by six months in jail or a $1,000 fine (or both).
    • Context: This proposal is supported by Virginia First Cities and addresses growing community safety concerns.
  • Photo Enforcement Authority: Staff requested extending the deadline for reviewing red light and speed violation videos from 10 days to 30 days (matching the current period for school zone speed violations) to ensure law enforcement can complete reviews and issue summonses. Additionally, the proposal includes authorizing "special conservators of the peace" and technicians to review footage.
    • Position: Mayor Glover expressed opposition to extending the review period to 30 days, arguing it would hinder a defendant's ability to gather information and defend themselves in court, stating, "I don't agree that 30 days is... ability to recover information to defend myself or something like that in court would be gone in 30 days."
    • Clarification: Councilman Moody noted the video/image evidence would still be available, but the Mayor maintained concerns regarding the defense process.
  • Budget Amendments (State Funding Requests):
    • Transmission Projects: Request for $4.5 million for Phase 1 and 2 of the transmission waterman project (previously vetoed by Governor Youngkin) and additional funds for Phase 2.
    • Housing Resource Center: A request for $17 million for a homeless shelter/resource center. Councilman Dotson expressed concern regarding the lack of a defined revenue stream for ongoing operations, arguing it is "irresponsible" to take on expenses without projecting future funding.
      • Response: Councilman Tilling clarified the project existed in the 2020 CIP projection and that ARPA funds would be redirected to other projects. Councilman Dotson maintained that a revenue stream must be identified.
    • Sanitary Sewer Pump Station Rehabilitation: Request for $4.25 million to continue rehabilitation of remaining pump stations (5 of 25 previously addressed).
    • Lead Service Line Inventory: Request for $1.2 million to enhance lead service line inventory and enable machine learning predictive models for replacement.
    • Regional Jail Renovation: Request to amend budget language for quarterly reimbursement on a $4.5 million project, with staff noting potential for administrative resolution without legislative action.
  • HB 599 (Police Funding): Staff explained the long-standing struggle to fully fund the HB 599 program, noting the state has not upheld its agreement to direct a portion of revenue increases to local police departments, despite local demands.
  • Pop-Up Events: The Council discussed a proposal to support legislation for "guardrails" on pop-up events following incidents in Virginia Beach and Miami involving large, unannounced crowds and violence. Councilman Hugo emphasized the need for more defined, actionable controls before full support, while Councilman Moody and Councilman Hugo highlighted the regional nature of the issue.
  • Juvenile Detention: Discussion focused on a state Senator's proposal to close or regionalize juvenile detention centers. Mayor Glover expressed a position favoring stakeholder engagement and education before concluding on the matter, suggesting an invitation to Senator Martin to educate the Council, noting the high cost and inefficiency of the current system.
  • Sunshine Laws: Councilman Dotson reiterated a long-standing request to amend the Sunshine Law to allow communication among a less-than-quorum (e.g., three members) to improve internal communication. Staff confirmed the item was previously dropped from the legislative package due to a lack of commitment from General Assembly representatives.
  • Federal Initiatives:
    • Pilot Fee Program: Efforts continue to seek an updated study and potential inclusion of Portsmouth in the Pilot Fee Program (payment in lieu of taxes) for military installations, currently stalled due to the federal government shutdown.
    • Railroad Safety: Exploring federal grant funding for safety studies at railroad crossings, also on hold due to the federal shutdown.
  • CDBG and Housing Grants: Strong advocacy for increasing funding for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Section 8 programs, which staff noted are underfunded and facing potential cuts in the federal budget, which would severely impact vulnerable populations.

Key Outcomes

  • Adoption of Initiatives: The Council is moving forward with the recommended 2026 legislative package, which includes the five state legislative initiatives (special use permits, retired officer TDO/ECO aid, firearm misdemeanor, photo enforcement review extension, and conservator authorization) and the five budget amendment requests.
  • Next Steps:
    • Pre-filing of state legislation will begin on November 17 and conclude in December.
    • A joint meeting with delegation members is scheduled for December 25th.
    • The Governor's budget will be presented on December 17th, and the General Assembly session begins January 13th.
  • Closed Session: The Council voted unanimously (6-0) to move into a closed session pursuant to Virginia Code § 2.2-3711A(1) to consult with legal counsel regarding specific legal matters related to shootings in the city, and § 2.2-3711(A)(1) to discuss the positions of interim city attorney and city attorney.
  • Regional Cooperation: Council members agreed to pursue further discussions with regional bodies (HRPD, EV Riffa) regarding homelessness and pop-up event strategies.

Meeting Transcript

I might uh you know what I need to choose my own thing. Formally do something probably tomorrow. Okay. Council meeting. Very well. Thank you. It's been a pleasure. I'm sure. No one should be able to speak. We'll have to do that. 100%. Madam Clerk. Yes, sir. Would you please call the room? Miss Bryant. Present. Mr. Dr. Dotson. Present. Mr. Hugo. Present. Mr. Moody. Here. Miss Thomas. Here. Mr. Tillich. Here. Mayor Glevin. Here. And so we today for our agenda item is the post 2026 state and federal legislative initiatives. And we have here with us our team member, Miss Sherry Neal, who is our intergovernmental affairs manager. Miss Sneal, you have the floor, ma'am. Thank you, Mayor. And good evening. Mayor Glover. Vice Mayor Moody, Honorable Members of Council, Deputy City Manager Coleman, City Attorney Ram, Madam Clerk. It's my pleasure to be before you this evening to share with you the recommendations of the Portsmouth City Council Legislative Advisory Committee for Initiatives for the 2026 state and federal legislative initiatives. And before I delve into this, I just wanted to give a special thanks to council for creating this committee. The members of council that have on there now and passed our staff that are on there, the city leadership has been a tremendous help in creating a much more dynamic and diverse legislative package than we've had for many many years. So I I personally thank you guys for doing this and creating this. And thank you for all of you who serve. It's been a great team effort. So moving forward. Not to be so again, I said I'm presenting on behalf of the committee this evening, and I'm going to share with you our recommendations for council adoption of our state legislative uh initiatives and budget amendments, as well as we have some things for the federal initiatives. We'll go over some next uh important dates and next steps and the questions and answers that you may have. So starting with the legislative initiatives, we have five legislative initiatives that we're recommending.

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