VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Virginia Beach City Council members talked about financial needs for flood protection, stormwater management, road projects and more during their work session on Tuesday.
On the stormwater enterprise fund, City Council members heard rate increases will likely be necessary to continue funding stormwater management programs.
Currently, the stormwater utility fee is charged to all property owners, with single-family homes all paying the same rate and multifamily and commercial properties paying an amount determined by calculating the impervious areas (hard surfaces such as buildings, parking lots and sidewalks) on the site.
City staff said a rate increase to meet the current needs would cost $21.54 annually for each single-family home. However, to meet needs including 19 additional full-time positions identified by a recent study, the rate increase would need to be higher — $32.49 annually for each single-family home. Owners of multifamily and commercial properties would pay a varying rate based on their impervious area.
Over the next several years, a gap in the stormwater fund between $4 million and $7 million would need to be bridged. Director of Public Works L.J. Hansen said failure to maintain staffing levels would result in citywide issues.
“It would come at a cost, and I think people would notice it,” he said.
Talking about flood mitigation, the local share of needed projects could reach an eye-popping $1.75 billion over the course of a phased implementation.
Council members said it is important to seek funding from state and federal sources as well — and make that a regional effort. City Manager Patrick Duhaney agreed.
“We bring a lot of economic firepower to the state,” Duhaney said. “They should help us cover the costs associated with this one. Primarily one of the reasons we’re getting the benefit of the federal money is because the federal government wants to protect these federal military assets here. That brings a lot of revenue to the state; it should not just be the locality paying for this off of our backs.”
Duhaney said Virginia Beach City Council has approved a lobbying effort that would be cooperative with other localities.
“This helps us future-proof some of the military assets in Virginia Beach, Hampton Roads and in the commonwealth,” Duhaney added.
When it comes to road projects, council members discussed how delaying projects ultimately winds up costing more due to inflation — particularly in materials cost and the labor market.
“The labor market right now is driving a lot of the boat,” said David Jarman, division manager for the transportation capital plan. “There’s not enough people here to do all of this work.”
Jarman also said that contractors find it difficult to work in Virginia Beach due to work hour restrictions, limitations on lane closures and other issues, further exacerbating costs.
