Hampton Council Adopts FY 2009 City Budget

May 15, 2008

On May 14, 2008, the Hampton City Council approved the City's budget for Fiscal Year 2009 totaling $443,873,992, a 1.89% increase over Fiscal Year 2008.

The approved budget protects both existing city services while funding many critical enhancements that will make a difference in the community while simultaneously reducing the real estate tax rate by 2 cents, to $1.04 per $100 assessed value. This is the lowest real estate tax rate of any urban city in the Hampton Roads region, except for the City of Virginia Beach, which is a much wealthier community by many measures. The $1.04 tax rate is also the lowest it has been in Hampton since at least the late seventies.

Under normal circumstances, the reduced tax rate would have dictated that the funding to the Hampton City Schools, which is based on an agreed upon formula, also be reduced. However, the school system was exempted from the effects of the reduced tax rate which would have otherwise reduced their funding by nearly $1 million. This exemption is demonstrative of the Council's and Community's strong commitment to public education. As a result of state and local increases to the Schools System, the school budget instead grew by a total of $10,700,456 or 5.22%.

While this is the fifth straight year that real estate taxes have been reduced, prior years' efforts were less difficult to accomplish because of the large reassessment growth. Real estate assessments have slowed considerably in the last year, not only in Hampton but also statewide, thereby making it much more difficult to lower the tax rate. With real estate reassessment growth averaging 1.66% for residential properties and a net loss in State revenues, the opportunity was taken to review ways to reduce expenditures and generate savings.

As a result, the following internal budget balancing measures totaling $9.1 million included: removing attrition from departmental budgets; eliminating 16 permanent full-time positions and several part-time positions; reducing the average merit increase given to employees; reducing Contingency; departmental operating cost reductions; deferring capital projects; using fund balance for capital projects and onetime items; and, reducing contributions to noncontractual civic and community support agencies.

City service enhancements included one-half year of operating costs for the Teen Center, Aquatics Center and Buckroe Fishing Pier; full year funding of the Internal Audit and Community and International Relations departments, the Hampton History Museum consultant, the Federal Facilities support function and two Emergency-911 dispatcher positions to meet increased emergency calls. Also included is funding to pay for public use of the Boo Williams Sportsplex and the Hampton Housing Venture program for the Sussex area. Funds have also been earmarked to support a new drainage policy.

The Sewer User Fee will be increased by $0.41 to $1.48 per 100 cubic feet in order to fund the Department of Environmental Quality regional consent order obligations and enhance sewer rehabilitation efforts. All regional localities are under the same obligations and thus we expect other cities to also raise this fee in their communities.

Copies of the City of Hampton's FY09 Council Approved budget documents will be available July 1, 2008 in the Hampton Public Libraries and at www.hampton.gov/budget.