OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Portsmouth City Council Work Session and Regular Meeting - March 24, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, March 24, 2026
BodyPortsmouth, Virginia
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, March 24, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 3:19:01

Transcript — Verbatim
29:54

Also want to acknowledge our guests who uh seated in the conference round for this public works session.

30:00

Take a moment to uh recognize our city manager, Mr.

30:05

Steven Carter, interim city attorney, Mr.

30:08

Derek Challenger, our city assessor, Mr.

30:12

Steve Edwards, and our deputy city clerk, Ms.

30:16

Anita Shira.

30:17

Thank you all for being here today.

30:19

Looking forward to a productive meeting.

30:21

And with that, Madam Clerk, would you please call the roll?

30:25

Miss Bryan.

30:26

Present.

30:27

Dr.

30:27

Basson.

30:28

Present.

30:28

Mr.

30:29

Hugal.

30:30

Present.

30:30

Vice Mayor Moody.

30:31

Here.

30:32

Miss Thomas.

30:33

Mr.

30:34

Tillich?

30:34

Here.

30:35

Mayor Glammer.

30:36

Here.

30:37

Mr.

30:37

Carter.

30:38

Sir, you have the floor.

30:40

Yes, sir.

30:41

We have a couple presentations this evening.

30:46

The Commissioner of Revenue.

30:48

He'll speak to us about revenue from a collection standpoint.

30:53

Followed by Mr.

30:55

Trey Burke, our budgeting officer.

30:57

He'll speak about revenue on a budgeting trend point of view.

31:02

Then following that will be a presentation about our funding community organizations.

31:10

And we want to open up a discussion on that because that's something that's going to be happening in our next in our upcoming discussions about our budget.

31:19

We're going to put a little form around that uh kind of wide open last year.

31:23

We're going to see if we can uh define that a little bit with your assistance and uh see if we can make that process a little bit more uh structured.

31:31

Okay.

31:32

But first I'm gonna ask uh Mr.

31:34

Frankie Ettman if he would come and uh give us his proposal is that his that don't look like him like trade kind of okay let me I don't have that second hey hey Ms.

32:01

Sherrod do you need a little time because we we can bring up Mr.

32:04

Burke I mean that's fine if we need to switch the order a little bit I'm sorry that's fine no problem absolutely not completely Commissioner Edmondson is always ready so uh we I'm sorry sir that's no problem thank you we saved the best for for later anyway then the order will not be as I presented it's okay we'll get there Mr.

32:31

Burke will talk about uh revenue as far as budget is concerned first.

32:36

Um uh miss Sherrod, I hope can get that second revenue piece in there because that last case kind of has nothing to do with those two elements, and I'd rather not put that in the middle of those.

32:47

Okay.

32:48

So first, Mr.

32:49

Burke.

32:50

All right, good afternoon.

32:52

Good afternoon, Mayor, Vice Mayor, members of city council.

32:55

This evening I'll walk through the revenue side of the FY 2027 general fund, so not everything, just the general fund budget.

33:02

We'll break down the growth we're projecting in the budget and importantly highlight how much of that growth is structural and how much of it is one time.

33:12

So as an overall, the total general fund budget.

33:17

Sorry, the overall general fund budget is 360.7 million.

33:23

This is up 21 and a half or 6.3 percent.

33:27

Real property tax, which is the largest single tax revenue in the city, is about 40 percent, followed by intergovernmental revenues, which is um as we'll go over, we'll go through all these in more depth later on in the presentation, but intergovernmental revenue that's what comes from the state, um, is nearly 20 percent.

33:45

So we'll dig into how much of this growth is coming and where it's coming from the future slides.

33:53

So of the 21 and a half million dollar increase, only nine million, or about 42 percent of the overall represent structural recurring growth.

34:02

Real property growth is 6.8 million dollars, is driven primarily by one-time adjustments.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Fiscal Sustainability████████████████████████████████████████████44%
Community Engagement████████████████████████24%
Procedural███████████11%
Economic Development██████6%
Youth Programs██████6%
Homelessness███3%
Parks and Recreation███3%
Personnel Matters██2%
Data and Metrics█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Portsmouth City Council Work Session and Regular Meeting - March 24, 2026

The Portsmouth City Council held a work session followed by a regular meeting on March 24, 2026. The work session featured detailed presentations on the FY2027 general fund revenue projections, personal property tax relief (PPTRA), and funding for community organizations. The regular meeting included approval of a consent agenda, council member announcements, and public comments. Key discussions focused on revenue growth, tax delinquency, the structure of civic organization funding, and the addition of a city auditor position.

Consent Calendar

  • Item 26-83A: Ordinance accepting $27,500 from the Virginia Crisis Intervention Team Coalition for the Portsmouth Crisis Intervention Team Program.
  • Item 26-83B: Ordinance accepting $75,104 in additional 4E foster care funding from the Virginia Department of Social Services.
  • Item 26-83C: Ordinance accepting $15,000 in SNAP employment and training funding from the Virginia Department of Social Services.
  • Item 26-83D: Ordinance establishing a personal property tax relief percentage of 50% for calendar year 2026 personal property tax bills. All consent items were approved unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • G.W. Thompson (Virginia Organizing and Church and Community in Action): Thanked council for funding and plans for a permanent homeless shelter, requested continued support during inclement weather and for cooling stations in summer. Highlighted collaborative distribution of cold‑weather supplies to homeless individuals.
  • Keith Bailey (President, Epsilon Nu Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity): Presented the chapter’s community service activities including food bank volunteering, cleanups, scholarship donations ($10,500 to seven seniors), and partnership with city events. Council members praised the organization's contributions.
  • Jalisa Jones (Founder, My Life My Story Youth): Proposed a permanent youth hub providing boxing, music, welding, and life‑skills training for teenagers, with after‑hours programming and employment opportunities. Emphasized a "hook and ladder" approach to prepare youth for adulthood. Councilman Dodson suggested she partner with the existing Big Homies program.
  • Councilwoman Bryant (during public comment): Requested an update on the homeless shelter’s construction and coordination of services; no verbal response was given at that time.

Discussion Items

  • FY2027 General Fund Revenue Presentation (Trey Burke, Budgeting Officer):

    • Total general fund budget: $360.7 million, up 6.3% ($21.5 million). Only 42% ($9 million) represents structural recurring growth; the remainder is one‑time adjustments.
    • Real property tax: $143.2 million, with 5% growth (above the 3.35% national average) driven by catch‑up assessments and strong appreciation; no tax rate increase was assumed.
    • Delinquency rate on real property: 18.4% (about $5 million), elevated due to a $10–15 million underpayment in 2023–2024 that is now being paid.
    • Personal Property Tax Relief Act (PPTRA): City receives a fixed $9.9 million from the state since 2004; the effective discount for taxpayers has declined over time.
    • Other tax revenues: sales tax growing (Wayfair), restaurant food tax normalizing to 1–2%, water tax up substantially (under investigation), admission taxes up (children's museum), ambulance fees rising due to new billing vendor.
    • Intergovernmental revenue includes casino money routed through the state; at risk from new casinos and iGaming.
    • Fund balance currently $145 million; $13.6 million fund balance appropriation in FY2027, used only for one‑time expenditures.
    • City receives no federal Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT); a strategy was discussed to seek a refreshed study to leverage for other federal funding.
    • Councilman Dodson emphasized seeking grant revenue as an opportunity and praised the improved presentation. Councilman Hugel questioned the school revenue growth assumptions in long‑term projections; staff will review.

  • Personal Property Tax Relief Act Presentation (Commissioner Frankie Edmonds):

    • PPTRA history: enacted 1998, amended 2005. Portsmouth has maintained a 50% relief rate for many years.
    • Portsmouth personal property tax rate: $5 per $100 assessed value on the first $20,000, the highest in the region on the comparative slide.
    • For CY2026, proposed 50% relief is automatically applied based on DMV data.
    • Vehicle assessments decreased 2% for CY2026; overall personal property revenue grew from $57 million (2004) to ~$112 million currently.
    • Disabled veterans receive a full exemption on real estate and personal property (must apply).
    • Enforcement on business use of vehicles: vehicles used 50% or more for business lose PPTRA eligibility; the office is expanding compliance in the gig economy.
    • Councilman Hugel asked if the 50% relief exceeds the $9.9 million state allocation; the commissioner noted stability but promised historical data.
    • The consent agenda included the 50% rate ordinance, which was approved.

  • Community Organization Funding Discussion (Trey Burke and City Manager Carter):

    • FY2027 proposes $1,130,000 to 14 organizations (6.5% increase over FY2026 $1,060,000). Three categories: Housing/Human Services ($441k), Youth/Education ($557k), Health/Community Wellness ($130k).
    • Largest recipients: HER Shelter (homeless assistance $232k, domestic violence $70k), Ports of Volunteers for the Homeless ($64k, +17%), Senior Services of SE VA ($75k, +$10k).
    • Missing organizations: Edmarc (children's hospice) did not reapply; Vice Mayor Moody will reach out. Next Generation (internships) is funded under the Workforce Foundation, not this program.
    • Councilwoman Thomas requested impact statements from funded organizations to measure outcomes; staff will create a standard template.
    • Councilman Hugel requested consideration of funding for Portsmouth Events (for High Street Fest and Sail Virginia). Council reached consensus to include that request for consideration in the budget, with the suggestion that funds from the current year’s Sail Virginia allocation could offset the cost.
    • Vice Mayor Moody proposed a tiered retiree bonus allocation based on need; City Manager advised waiting for legal review before further discussion.
    • The manager proposed a structured application and scoring process for civic funding, similar to the city’s sponsorship program. Council debated whether organizations should present in person or provide written impact statements; no final decision was made.
    • Staff flagged challenges: increasing requests due to federal cuts, need for council priorities, and tension between requiring audits (protecting the city) and supporting new organizations that cannot afford audits.

  • Other Council Business:

    • Councilwoman Thomas requested to bring back the discussion of a city auditor position on the April 13 work session; informal consensus was given.
    • Mayor Glover reported on a trip to Portsmouth, England, and discussed strengthening the sister‑city relationship.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent Agenda Approved: Including the 50% PPTRA rate for CY2026, and acceptance of various state grants.
  • Consensus to Consider Funding for Portsmouth Events: Council agreed to include Portsmouth Events for consideration in FY2027 budget discussions.
  • Auditor Position Discussion Added to Next Work Session: The discussion of a city auditor position will be placed on the April 13, 2026 work session agenda.
  • Civic Organization Funding Process: Staff will develop a formal application, scoring, and reporting process; no vote taken, further discussion scheduled.
  • Retiree Bonus: Discussion deferred pending legal review; Vice Mayor Moody's tiered proposal was noted.

Meeting Transcript

Also want to acknowledge our guests who uh seated in the conference round for this public works session. Take a moment to uh recognize our city manager, Mr. Steven Carter, interim city attorney, Mr. Derek Challenger, our city assessor, Mr. Steve Edwards, and our deputy city clerk, Ms. Anita Shira. Thank you all for being here today. Looking forward to a productive meeting. And with that, Madam Clerk, would you please call the roll? Miss Bryan. Present. Dr. Basson. Present. Mr. Hugal. Present. Vice Mayor Moody. Here. Miss Thomas. Mr. Tillich? Here. Mayor Glammer. Here. Mr. Carter. Sir, you have the floor. Yes, sir. We have a couple presentations this evening. The Commissioner of Revenue. He'll speak to us about revenue from a collection standpoint. Followed by Mr. Trey Burke, our budgeting officer. He'll speak about revenue on a budgeting trend point of view. Then following that will be a presentation about our funding community organizations. And we want to open up a discussion on that because that's something that's going to be happening in our next in our upcoming discussions about our budget. We're going to put a little form around that uh kind of wide open last year. We're going to see if we can uh define that a little bit with your assistance and uh see if we can make that process a little bit more uh structured. Okay. But first I'm gonna ask uh Mr. Frankie Ettman if he would come and uh give us his proposal is that his that don't look like him like trade kind of okay let me I don't have that second hey hey Ms. Sherrod do you need a little time because we we can bring up Mr. Burke I mean that's fine if we need to switch the order a little bit I'm sorry that's fine no problem absolutely not completely Commissioner Edmondson is always ready so uh we I'm sorry sir that's no problem thank you we saved the best for for later anyway then the order will not be as I presented it's okay we'll get there Mr. Burke will talk about uh revenue as far as budget is concerned first. Um uh miss Sherrod, I hope can get that second revenue piece in there because that last case kind of has nothing to do with those two elements, and I'd rather not put that in the middle of those. Okay. So first, Mr. Burke. All right, good afternoon.

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