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Council members digging into what city gives outside agencies Date published: 4/23/2007
BY EMILY BATTLE
This year, the Arc of Rappahannock is helping 37 Fredericksburg residents with mental retardation to get dental care that wouldn't be available to them anywhere else. Meanwhile, the Sister City Association is promoting cultural exchange programs to highlight Fredericksburg's partnership with Frejus, France. Both groups have asked for money from the Fredericksburg taxpayers to keep doing these things next year. While the Sister City group has been recommended to receive its $4,000 request, the Arc was recommended to get none of its $4,620 request. As a result, Arc Executive Director Jan Griffin said she's going to have to stop fixing rotting teeth and other major dental problems found among the city residents who visit Arc's dental clinic. "I don't know how I am going to find it in my heart to tell these people, 'I cannot help you,'" Griffin said. The Arc's situation is an example of how seemingly small decisions in the city budget process can have a big impact outside of City Hall. Fredericksburg officials are proposing to contribute $6.8 million to outside agencies in next year's budget. That's 5.7 percent more than the city gave these groups this year. As next year's budget deliberations wear on, two City Council members are taking a closer look at this part of the budget. Councilmen Matt Kelly and Marvin Dixon outlined several potential cuts to groups on this list on Tuesday. Dixon said his recommendations were made out of an attempt to be equitable between what outside agencies get and what the workers in City Hall get. They are also an attempt to avoid having to raise taxes on city homeowners. The proposed budget includes a 10-cent real-estate tax increase. Dixon and Kelly's proposal could reduce that by a cent. "I do not want to raise the real-estate tax even a penny," Dixon said. "I also don't want to cut anyone's allocations. But how do I reconcile those two extremes? You're going to have to work both ends to the middle." Dixon and Kelly also recommended some cuts inside City Hall.
Read more stories about Fredericksburg Date published: 4/23/2007
Kelly spearheaded the purchase of a $100,000 parking ticket system that may or may not work, but he is nickel and diming overone else especially the least fortunate. What a guy!
Brush three times a day. Stay away from sweets. Floss and use mouthwash. Problem solved. I don't even know what the Sister city money is for, but it sounds like a waste on the French.
Cut into the 2 percent worker cost of living and raise the tax to eat in the city. So what's the surprise. Isn't that the usual logic of Matt Kelly?
Let me see if I understand this: the council wants to give money to promote a feel-good program between a sister city in France (none of whose citizens live in or provide monies for the Fredericksburg community) and the city. At the same time that money is witheld from vulnerable needy citizens needing dental care? I believe I would need to see a detailed justification statement from council for that one.
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