BY EMILY BATTLE
Fredericksburg City Council members have been talking for more than a year now about the pressures that the regional economic slowdown has put on city finances.
For three days in Norfolk last month, they talked to their counterparts in cities all over the state and heard from Gov. Tim Kaine about the similar budget problems facing the state and local governments.
The cost to send the seven council members, along with the city manager, assistant city manager and city attorney, to the three-day Virginia Municipal League conference at the Norfolk Waterside Convention Center Oct. 19-21 was $10,378.
That included meals, accommodations and mileage for the 10 officials--many of whom carpooled--to stay two nights at the Marriott hotel at the convention center. It also included one night of accommodations for four police employees who came to accept a statewide award the city received for its AutoChalk parking enforcement system.
All or part of the council attends the VML conference each year. Mayor Tom Tomzak said he realizes that the expense of attending is something the city shouldn't take lightly in a year when tax increases and service cuts are both on the table.
He said he thought the expense this year was worth it, in part because the VML offers local officials an opportunity to talk face-to-face with state officials who have the power to put even more pressure on local budgets by cutting what the state pays for its share of public services.
"The decision to go ahead with this is made in the context of the difficult times we are in," Tomzak said. "State officials and federal officials may listen sympathetically when officials from one locality tell them about how their cuts affect them. But when all the elected officials from all the municipalities across the state come together they're going to have to listen more intently."
Tight budgets at home did not appear to hurt attendance at the conference.
VML communications director David Parsons said the group typically sees about 475 local appointed and elected officials at the conference, and that number remained the same this year.
Beyond the sobering talk about additional state cuts the city can expect to see, council members say they found value in talking with their counterparts from around the state about everything from dealing with blighted properties to curbing school dropout rates to building environmentally friendly government facilities.
In addition to its award for AutoChalk, Fredericksburg was also recognized at the conference as a "certified green government" for using a long list of environmentally friendly practices.
Councilman Matt Kelly said he talked with other local officials about strategies they've used to finance courthouses, since Fredericksburg is looking at spending $59 million on a new downtown courts facility.
"We are all struggling with some of the same issues," Vice Mayor Kerry Devine said. "I just think that sharing of ideas is part of what makes you effective as a local government. Everybody is being encouraged to think outside the box."
For council members Mary Katherine Greenlaw and Brad Ellis, this year's VML conference was their first chance to learn about city and state government interactions since becoming council members.
Ellis said he got perspective on how to lobby state officials, and information about smaller issues, such as what kinds of products are available for street lighting and for building other public facilities.
Greenlaw said she found a session on preventing high school dropouts helpful. She also said that for her, as a new council member, the gathering provided a perspective on how Virginia cities work. That's something she couldn't get out of the locally focused orientation council members go through in Fredericksburg.
"To understand how, in the state of Virginia, cities and towns and the state government interact, you
City Manager Phillip Rodenberg said he thought the conference was worth the expense, even as the city tries to cut its travel and training budget as much as it can.
"This is one of the best events that a council can attend to help with their understanding of the budget, in preparation for their own budget deliberations," he said. "I'm glad all the council members were there to hear it directly."
Emily Battle: 540/374-5413
Email: ebattle@freelancestar.com