Portsmouth's 8-cent real estate tax increase is too much

The City Council should pare or eliminate the tax increase built into the $563 million spending plan presented last Tuesday by City Manager Kenneth Chandler.

The city staff certainly faced a difficult task. In addition to shortfalls in revenue projections - the norm for U.S. cities today - Portsmouth faces expenses it can no longer responsibly put off. Among other things, the council has committed to a long-overdue, $2.3 million pay upgrade for police and firefighters and must set aside funds for a new courthouse.

To hold down expenses, the proposal calls for cutting more than 100 vacant full-time and part-time positions and for 11 percent reductions in subsidies to civic groups and facilities, including the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. And the school district, still struggling to rebuild after years of decline, is looking at a $1.1 million drop in funding.