Rates, reopening, raises: Three things to know for Norfolk’s upcoming budget vote

Norfolk’s City Council is expected to vote Tuesday night to approve the city’s spending plan for the next year.

In the spring of 2020, as the pandemic struck in the United States, the city slashed $40 million from it’s budget. But as the coronavirus pandemic has waned and things have opened back up, the proposed city budget for next year looks a lot healthier.

However, officials have warned that while things are improving, the city’s revenues still aren’t expected to be back up to pre-pandemic levels. The city’s proposed spending plan, which would go into effect July 1, reflects a smaller budget than the city had projected even around this time last year.

Here are three key items to know about ahead of the budget vote:

1) No tax increases — but your bill will still probably go up

Norfolk’s tax rates and fees will remain the same for the next year.

But even with the real estate tax rate staying at $1.25 per $100 of assessed property, rising property values will likely mean the average homeowner’s bill is a bit higher than last year.

The city’s real estate assessor has said real estate values have gone up about 3.25% over last year.

To put that into dollars and cents: this year’s tax bill will be about $81 higher for a home that was valued at $200,000 last year.

2) Most — but not all — libraries and rec centers will reopen

One of the biggest issues facing the city as it prepared this year’s budget was the fate of libraries and rec centers, which have largely been closed for the last year.

Initially closed due to public health issues, the bulk of libraries and recreation center staff were first furloughed and then laid off last year to cover a big chunk of the $40 million in reduced spending.

Over the last few weeks, the city has rolled out the plans to reopen libraries and rec centers. But City Manager Chip Filer has cautioned that reopening does not mean going back to the way things were.

Libraries that do reopen will have hours cut by roughly 20 percent, according to city documents.

Two libraries — the Downing branch in Berkley and the Park Place branch — are not currently slated to reopen during the next budget year, which runs through June 2022.

The Park Place library, which is adjacent to Monroe Elementary School, has been offered to Norfolk Public Schools as a site for additional instruction, city officials said. If NPS doesn’t use it, Park Place will resume library operations.

The new Richard A. Tucker Memorial Branch Library will open in Campostella later this summer, a mile and a half from the Downing branch library.

Five of the city’s recreation centers — Park Place, Ingleside, Young Terrace, Campostella and Merrimack — also won’t reopen under the next year’s budget.

Filer and other officials have said they have no plans for those closures to become permanent, pointing to the continued economic impacts of the pandemic and the city’s tax revenue as the reason for the continued closures.

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3) Raises for all city employees — and additional bumps for public safety staff

One area Filer recommended increasing spending was on across-the-board raises for city staff, with most getting a 3% boost.

Many public safety employees will get even more: Sheriff’s deputies will enjoy a 5% raise; 911 operators will get a 6.7% raise; and every police officer will move up the existing pay scale one rung, gaining an average of about 8%.

The rationale for the big boost in police salaries, Filer said, is that the department has had major difficulties recruiting and retaining new officers. In part, he pointed to more competitive salaries in several surrounding cities, saying the boost would immediately take Norfolk from the back of the pack to the front.

Filer also added pay bumps for fire and rescue staff who serve as fire inspectors or have have gotten EMT certifications beyond what the city teaches in the fire academy.

Such certifications require taking courses at a community college and the city doesn’t have any kind of tuition payback plan, so the aim is to incentivize firefighters to get the certifications earlier in their careers, Fire Chief John DiBacco said.

Ryan Murphy, 757-739-8582, ryan.murphy@pilotonline.com