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The Fredericksburg Circuit Courthouse, built in 1852, has mold and other problems. |
THE CURRENT debate on building a new court facility is not about whether we need one; there is no question about that. The issue is whether the City of Fredericksburg can afford this project in the current financial climate.
I agree there are security, maintenance, and staffing concerns related to the current court facilities that would be alleviated with the construction of a consolidated court building. However, while I acknowledge the needs of the court, I am obligated to evaluate them in relation to the needs of the city as a whole--and within the context of current economic conditions.
Proponents of a new court facility cite security as a rationale for proceeding. But courts are not the only places where security is an issue. Public safety in the city in general has been affected by shrinking revenues.
This year, the police budget was cut by 4.5 percent; the fire department received an increase of only .66 percent, which is below inflation; and the EMS budget increase of 13 percent was based on funding from the ambulance charge to insurance companies, which, like all other sources of revenue, is performing below expectations.
Next year, the city is anticipating a $4 million revenue shortfall. The preliminary recommendation from staff to cover it includes a further reduction in the city's operating budget of $1 million. Even with all the cuts recommended, a $1.5 million deficit would remain. Covering the deficit would require either further cuts in the budget or an increase in the tax rate of 4 cents.
Since our last work session on the budget, the financial picture has worsened. With major retailers in Central Park such as Linens-N-Things and Tweeter Audio going out of business and Circuit City filing for bankruptcy, tax revenues for the city can be expected to decline further.
In any scenario, next year, city services including police, fire, and EMS will not be immune to further cuts. The following year, city residents would face a 9-cent increase in the real estate tax rate just to cover the debt service on the new court facility. How much higher will we have to raise the tax rate to maintain an appropriate level of public safety in Fredericksburg?
Another expressed justification for building the new court facility now is that residents should be able to handle a tax increase as Fredericksburg has one of the lowest tax rates in the region. However, the city also has the lowest median income and the largest percentage of households on fixed incomes in the region.
The sole determinate in setting the tax rate should be to ensure that we have the revenue to provide the services that city residents expect and at a reasonable cost. When we consider the cost of the new court facility in relation to the benefit it provides residents, and in light of the current fiscal situation, it is not justifiable.
The final argument for a new courts facility is that we have delayed this project long enough. But this ignores not only the current financial realities--both those being faced by the city and its residents. The latter are facing job layoffs, loss in value of their property, and stagnant incomes. As to the former--what position would the city be in today if we had an additional $3 million in debt service to pay?
For a 2010 opening date for the court facility, the tax increase would have happened during this current year. The result would have been residents paying higher taxes based on inflated property values. We would not have had the ability to provide additional funding for schools and would have had to make deeper cuts in the budget with an even greater impact on city services.
Over the next year, Wegman's and the new downtown hotel will open. Revenue from both of these projects has already been factored into next year's projected budget. It will probably take two years of operations before the impact of these businesses will be established. Hopefully, in that time, both Eagle Village and Kalahari will be moving forward. Revenue from these projects will hopefully allow us to shift some of the financial burden for the court facility off of city residents.
For now, at a time when city revenues are shrinking, we need to be focused on maintaining basic services to residents--public safety, public works, and education. Building the court facility at this time will shift resources away from the needs of the community in favor of the needs of the courts and place an undue financial burden on the household budgets of city residents.
There is no doubt that our city needs a new court complex. However, we must get through these tough financial times, focusing on residents' needs. When we begin to come out of the current economic downturn, and as more commercial projects come on line, then we can move forward with the court project. We just need a little time.
Matthew J. Kelly represents Ward 3 on the Fredericksburg City Council.
