Mayor Fraim says, “This is a crisis of the first order …”

Photo by City of Norfolk

Highlights of Mayor Paul D. Fraim’s State of the City address made on February 6, 2009 at the Marriott Waterside:

Norfolk faces a budget deficit of up to $10 million this year and more than $40 million in the next fiscal year. While there is bad news, there are many new, large construction projects in play.

New construction in Norfolk, from light rail to the $170 million Wachovia Center office tower to four large apartment projects, will total $1.1 billion in 2009. Additionally, new building projects will, hopefully, soon start on the campuses of Old Dominion, Norfolk State and Eastern Virginia Medical School as well as the 26-story downtown Westin Hotel and convention center. Few cities our size have this amount of construction in play to keep people working, to keep companies in business and put money back into the economy. This will serve as a bridge until nationwide recovery begins.

Of high importance is the General Assembly’s refusal to provide revenue for transportation improvements in all of Hampton Roads. We have a regional plan approved by the Metropolitan Planning Organization, but no funding.

For decades, Virginia has distributed funds for the construction and improvement of roads in its cities through a defined urban allocation program. This is the primary source of money for Norfolk to improve local roads, and it is dwindling. The allocation to Norfolk, which was $14.7 million in 1996, shrank to $5.8 million dollars this year and will drop to less than $3.5 million dollars next year. VDOT is now advising Virginia cities there will be no urban allocation at all as soon as 2010.

Not only is there no money for a regional transportation network, soon there will be none for local roads within Norfolk and every other city in Virginia. There will be no money for congestion relief, no money for economic expansion and only a few dollars for pot holes.

This is a crisis of the first order and must be addressed as a serious problem by state lawmakers. The free flow of commerce is key to our economic prosperity. With over 200,000 jobs in the city, nearly half are filled by commuters. If we accomplish nothing else, we MUST find a solution to the transportation funding gridlock.

State aid also comprises 41% of Norfolk’s general fund, paying for basic services like schools, public safety, road maintenance, social services and support for constitutional offices. More than $5 million in state aid reductions will need to be absorbed in Norfolk’s operating budget in the current fiscal year and another $22.5 million in next year’s budget due to the state’s budget shortfall.

Approximately 75% of the budget is related to personnel cost. Some downsizing of the workforce can be expected as well as the continuation of the current hiring freeze.

The region’s economy is projected to outperform the State and national economies in 2009. And, the historically insulating effect of the military and the Port should keep recession at bay. Defense spending rose 4.5 to 4.9% over the last two years, and this year it’s expected to increase by another 4.5%.

Hampton Roads was one of only seven large U.S. metropolitan areas adding jobs in 2008. Our workforce grew by nearly 1.5%, leading Northern Virginia in job growth as a percentage of the workforce. Source: U.S. Labor Department.

Other new work includes the consolidated courts complex and a new $50 million central library (will be the most technologically advanced library in the country).

Revenues are down at the Port for the first time in 30 years and falling cargo volumes has delayed the start of construction of Craney Island.

We’ve hired a Manager of Environmental Protection Programs to lead efforts to incorporate sustainability into municipal operations, and new city buildings are being designed to meet industry standards for green building.

Norfolk’s downtown has come a long way since 1980 resulting in new office buildings, new hotels and educational assets , new retail and residential development , a growing tax base valued at $1.6 billion generating $18 million annually in revenue.

Last year, Norfolk experienced our highest hotel revenues ever (approximately $105 million).

The Tide (light rail) will begin service next year with downtown access greatly improved and new development will occur around transit stops.

Ghent will see the completion of “201 at 21,” a $41 million development of 212 apartment units, 15,000-plus square feet of retail and parking.

Much community redevelopment is going on in the city, but there is still more to do – the crime rate needs to be lower, homeownership rates need to be higher and code enforcement better. City council has approved a Youth Violence Prevention Initiative led by a Task Force that will include citizen representation; the effort will take a comprehensive approach emphasizing prevention, intervention and suppression. City-wide, the violent crime rate remained flat. And we were all gratified that the murder rate dropped 42%.

Real progress continues at this three-year juncture into Norfolk’s ten-year plan to end homelessness. Families account for 20% of our homeless population, a number as high as 40% elsewhere in the region. In answer, the Faith Partnership, has been launched, an initiative to help support homeless families as they move from crisis to self-sufficiency by drawing on the talent and experience in the faith community. To date, 11 congregations have signed on as partners. This year our hope is to more closely involve our business community in this effort.

Secondary Education:
Last year, a $4.7 million grant from the Norfolk Foundation allowed Smart Beginnings South Hampton Roads to launch school readiness plans in Norfolk and four neighboring cities to help children start school ready to learn. Student achievement continues to improve. 44 of Norfolk’s 49 public schools have earned full SOL accreditation – that’s 90%. All five high schools are fully accredited, all but one of the division’s elementary schools and 5 of the 9 middle schools. There is work underway to bring them into compliance.

Educational accolades and awards:
• Newsweek Magazine ranked Granby and Maury in the top 5% of public high schools for the 2nd year.
• Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation cited Granby H.S. as one of three schools nationwide providing high-level math classes to help prepare students to be college and career-ready.
• U. S. Department of Education named Ocean View Elementary as one of 11 schools in Virginia (only school in Hampton Roads) a 2008 “No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon School. “
• Terrel H. Bell Award for School Leadership went to Ocean View’s principal, Lauren Campsen, one of only five principals from 320 Blue Ribbon schools.
• “No Child Left Behind American Star of Teaching Award” from the U. S. Department of Education went to Booker T. Washington High School teacher Shameka Hardy, one of only 51 educators to be honored.
• Virginia Governor’s Award for Educational Excellence went to Poplar Hall Elementary, Willoughby Elementary and the School of International Studies at Meadowbrook.

Higher Education:
The Downtown Norfolk campus of Tidewater Community College (with an enrollment increase of 13+% last year) is growing with a $17.6 million student center building starting in the spring.
Eastern Virginia Medical School marked its 35th anniversary in 2008 and is moving forward on a state-of-the-art education and research building, allowing enrollment to grow nearly 30% to help meet the demand.

At ODU’s Innovation Research Park, a $27.8 million student fitness center has just opened, and construction is underway on the second building. A new student counseling center and improvements to the university’s arts center are in the planning stage.

Norfolk State University is scheduled to break ground for a $47 million library and a $28 million student center. Planning for a new nursing building is presently underway while a state-of-the-art police headquarters opened over the summer.

U.S. News and World Report named Virginia Wesleyan one of the country’s best liberal arts colleges and the Princeton Review labeled VWU the Best Southeastern College.

“It is the strength of your commitment that energizes me and my fellow city council members and that makes it a privilege to serve you,” ended Mayor Fraim.

The full text of Mayor Fraim’s speech may be found on the City of Norfolk’s website: http://www.norfolk.gov/City_Hall/soc/2009/2009.pdf