Williamsburg Mayor says he won't run again
It's May 12. Williamsburg Mayor Douglas Pons announces retirement from city council... James City County budget debate reveals gulf between highest and lowest earning citizens, including the elderly.
Williamsburg Mayor Douglas G. Pons announced Monday he will not be running for re-election, ending a 16-year career with the city council.
“I will not be seeking re-election….I’ve decided to step back a bit,” Pons said at the council’s work session, noting June 16 is the deadline to file a petition to run for re-election.
His departure comes at a time of increasing pushback from a vocal group of taxpayers who have accused the city, particularly its former city manager, of taking on too much debt, growing its spending too rapidly and lack of transparency.
City council member Barbara L. Ramsey thanked Pons for his service, saying “we have been a better council and a better city because of you.”
During Monday’s work session, Interim City Manager Michele Mixner DeWitt outlined potential cuts in the proposed $121.15 million budget that would trim spending by $716,000 and reduce proposed staff expansion from 13 to 7.5 new employees.
She said the cuts were a response to citizen comments about the new budget that goes into effect July 1. She said the city has pushed back its vote on the budget to May 27 to allow more work and public comments on the plan.
Staff also proposed moving $1.5 million in funds that will be left over from the current budget to fund three projects: completion of the African American Heritage Trail, a new HVAC at the Quarterpath Recreation Center and repairs to the Prince George Street parking garage.
The money includes $500,000 William & Mary University paid in February toward a new fire truck because the city provides fire and rescue services to the university. New fire trucks cost range between $1 million for a pumper truck to $2 million for specialized aerial ladder trucks.
Amy Quark, a leader of the Williamsburg chapter of the Navigators USA scouting organization, brought several young members of the group to speak in support of a new building to house Williamsburg Regional Library.
“The library does not meet our community’s current needs,” she said. “There are a lot of problems….we need to approach these problems with a vision for the future.”
Several others also urged City Council to fund a new library, including Randy Casey-Rutland, president of the Friends of Williamsburg Regional Library board, who said that thousands of community members visit the library on a weekly basis. In addition to good schools and a good police and fire department, “the library is an essential part of our community,” he said.
But other speakers expressed worry the library and other projects, including the Greater Williamsburg Sports and Events Center, are generating too much debt that may lead to raising real estate taxes. The tax rate is unchanged in the proposed budget, at 62 cents per $100 in appraised value.
Cole Fairbanks said he fears that Williamsburg is “growing broke,” as he is beginning to notice a gap between “what is a healthy operational financial metric for the City of Williamsburg and what tax payers can reasonably and comfortably afford in terms of the tax burden.”
Robert Wilson agreed that the debts will force the need to raise taxes “considerably in order to make ends meet….We need to take a pause and think of some of the financial implications.”
A spokesman for Davenport and Company, the city’s financial advisor, assured council that the city is remaining within its financial policies and can handle the debt.
JCC budget debate highlights income inequality among its citizens
Arguments over James City County’s spending and tax rates illustrate the growing gap between the county’s highest and lowest income earners, including a large group of senior citizens living on fixed incomes.
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