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Here’s what we’re watching today:

📊 What You’ll Find in the Proposed Norfolk Budget📊 

💸 What’s the Deal with Taxes 💸 

⚾️ 🏒 Opening & Closing Seasons ⚾️ 🏒

📆 Next Three Days of Events📆

📊 What You’ll Find in the Proposed Norfolk Budget📊 

City Manager Doug Beaver presented the proposed FY 2025 budget last week to City Council. Remember this is just a proposal, it’s not set in stone until City Council votes on it. There’s still time to give feedback and ask for changes. Here’s some of the highlights:

• $335,000 for a new street sweeper ($320K) and GPS software for the sweeper fleet (15K).

• $73,900,000 in Capital Improvement funds for the Coastal Storm Risk Management project (AKA the floodwall).

•  $1,315,200 to construct the Blue Greenway in St. Paul’s area. 

• $246,860 to enhance security at the Cedar Grove Cruise Parking Lot. 

• $350,000 for  land acquisition, right-of-way acquisition, real estate property improvements, and upgrades to parks and pedestrian safety in the “Midtown” area. 

• $8,600,000 in increased school funding via the revenue sharing program

• $4,575,000 to improve and maintain the Virginia Zoo

• $298,439 for additional library staff to expand branch hours

• $120,000 for digital books

• $1,250,000 in matching funds for the Reimagine Nauticus campaign 

• $85,000 to enhance the MacArthur Memorial Museum

• $1,000,000 to purchase a new fire pumper truck 

•  $541,648 for eight staff for the Real Time Crime Center

• 1 additional park ranger

• $384,237 for the annual cancer screenings and monitoring for all sworn Fire-Rescue personnel 

• 1 staff position to manage outdoor community event permitting 

•  $4,000,000 for fleet investments including 73 vehicles/equipment 

• $4,100,000 for software and technology investments

• 3.5% general wage increase for all general, constitutional, and non-sworn employees 

• $150,000 for accessibility improvements at parks and recreation facilities

•  $286,588 for two Early Childhood Specialists and one Case Manager for the Infant Toddler Connection program 

•  $1,500,000 for the City’s homeless shelter and $250,000 to establish a homeless task force

•  $414,666 for a new public health community and outreach location 

•  $2,350,000 capital improvement funds for a water feature in Berkeley

•  $1.5 million capital improvement funds to improve Fountain Park 

• Capital improvement funds for Sutton Street Park, Five Points Park, and Community Beach Park 

•  $5,500,000 to redevelop Moton Circle 

• Establishment of a housing trust fund

Check out the full budget here.

💸 What’s the Deal with Taxes 💸 

As part of the proposed budget, City of Norfolk officials announced a proposed decrease in the property tax rate and at the same time notices went out alerting folks to potential increases in their taxes. So what’s the deal?

Well, the taxes you pay are based on two things: the value of your property and the rate charged on that value. 

Norfolk currently charges a tax rate of $1.25 per $100 in home value. Across the U.S. home prices have spiked in recent years, so the City is not taking deliberate action to raise taxes on that front. The City’s real estate assessor is simply updating values to reflect the real change in home prices. Nonetheless, this does result in increased tax bills for the average homeowner. 

Since the assessments for homes have gone up so much, the City manager included a rate decrease in his proposed budget. It would take the tax rate from $1.25 to $1.23 per $100 in home value. 

While home values are determined for each home individually, it’s anticipated that a rate of $1.18 per $100 in home value would be needed to keep the average homeowners tax bill unchanged this year. Another way to say that would be, the proposed rate reduction would still result in homeowners paying a larger tax bill this year. 

So yes, the (proposed) tax rate is going down, but you’ll still probably pay more. You can chime in on the proposed budget and tax rate at the Public Hearing on April 30th.

⚾️ 🏒 Opening & Closing Seasons ⚾️ 🏒

This past Friday the Norfolk Tides opened their season with a bang. 

Coming off a Triple-A Championship year, there were high hopes at the start of the game. 10,825 people showed up to see the action. And the prospect-loaded team did not let us down. 

It was a high scoring game all around, with a few home runs to boot. The final was 12-8, with the Tides clinching the season opener. Over the three games this past weekend, they’re walking away 2-1. 

The Admirals

Meanwhile, the Admirals are getting close to wrapping up their season. They’ve played 66 games so far and can tout 39 victories. That leaves them fourth in the Eastern conference, but it’s enough to ensure they’ll get a slot in the playoffs. 

That’s the first playoff berth in 10 years, and if there was a year to do it, it’d be this year. Can they match the Tides and bring another championship to the city? 

Details are still to come on the playoff games, but you can sign up to be first to know here.

📆 Next Three Days of Events📆

WEDNESDAY:
Klassic Doughnut Popup at Cova Brewing. 7:00 am. Rip it. 
Align: Small Business Series at NSU Innovation Center. 10:00 am. Rip it. 
Healing Garden Walk & Talk at Norfolk Botanical Garden. 1:00 pm. Rip it. 
Your Future! College and Career Fair at Slover Library. 3:00 pm. Rip it. 
Adult Chess Meetup at Slover Library. 5:00 pm. Rip it. 
Super Casual Wednesday Bike Ride departing Slow & Steady Bikes. 6:00 pm. Rip it. 
Boardgame Night at Atlantis Games & Comics. 6:00pm. Rip it.
D&D Game Night at Atlantis Games & Comics. 6:00pm. Rip it.
Norfolk Run Club Wednesday Meetup at Maker’s Craft Brewery. 6:20 pm. Rip it. 
2024 Verb Benders Love For All Poetry Slam at The Venue on 35th.6:30 pm. Rip it. 
Trivia Night at Smartmouth. 6:30 pm. Rip it.
NoCo Karaoke at Elation Brewing. 6:30 pm. Rip it. 
The Wines of Australia with Akeyla at Vino Culture. 6:30 pm. Rip it. 
Planetarium Show at Michael and Kimthanh Lê Planetarium. 7:00pm. Rip it.
Open Mic Night at Cafe Mudita. 7:00 pm. Rip it.
Trivia Night at MJ’s Tavern. 7:00 pm. Rip it.
Trivia Night at Torch Bistro. 7:00 pm. Rip it.
Trivia Night at Hank’s Filling Station. 7:00 pm. Rip it.
Trivia Night at Stockpot. 7:00 pm. Rip it. 
Drifting Roots perform live at Chicho’s. 7:30. Rip it. 
Brandon Peter performs live at Grain. 7:00 pm. Rip it. 
Norfolk Admirals vs. Reading Royals at Norfolk Scope. 7:05 pm. Rip it. 
Gabe Donahue performs live at Grace O’Malley’s. 7:30 pm. Rip it. 

THURSDAY:
Ghent Business Association Meeting at Ohef Sholom Temple. 8:30 am. Rip it.
Pollination Of Orchids at Norfolk Botanical Garden. 10:00 am. Rip it. 
Thrilling Thursday Evening Ride w/ East Coast Bicycles. 6:00 pm. Rip it. 
Open Mic Night at Cova Brewing. 6:00 pm. Rip it. 
Ocean View Run Club Group Run/Walk at Bold Mariner Brewing. 6:00 pm. Rip it. 
Trivia Night at Elation. 6:30 pm. Rip it. 
Open Gym at Push Comedy Theater. 6:30 pm. Rip it.
Indie Lens Pop-Up: My Parkinson's at Slover Library. 6:30 pm. Rip it.
Cypher Night at House Of Consciousness. 7:00 pm. Rip it. 
performs live at Brother’s. 7:00 pm. Rip it. 
Trivia Night at Bold Mariner. 7:00 pm. Rip it. 
Trivia Night at Pixel’s. 7:00 pm. Rip it. 
Trivia Night at Baxter’s. 7:00 pm. Rip it. 
Juju performs live at Brothers. 7:00 pm. Rip it.
Casting Crowns 20th Anniversary Tour. 7:00 pm. Rip it. 
Naro Minded: The End Of Evangelion at Naro Cinema. 7:30 pm. Rip it.
Matt Holloman performs live at Grain. 7:30 pm. Rip it.
Gabe Donahue performs live at Grace O’Malley’s. 7:30 pm. Rip it. 
The Play That Goes Wrong at ODU Rep Theater. 7:30 pm. Rip it.
Walker Montgomery performs live at Waterside. 8:00 pm. Rip it. 
Performers Playground Stage Workshop at The Venue on 35th. 9:00 pm. Rip it. 

FRIDAY:
Norfolk Run Club Friday Meetup at Yorgo's Bageldashery . 6:00 am. Rip it 
GUD Morning River Sunrise Yoga at Ryan Resilience Lab. 6:30 am. Rip it.
Spring Break Camp at Hurrah Players. 9:00 am. Rip it
Writers Coffee Break at Cafe Stella. 10:00 am. Rip it
New Shops Ribbon Cutting at Selden Market. 11:00 am. Rip it. 
Walking Tour of Historic Fort Norfolk on the ERT. 1:00 pm. Rip it.
Ghent Farmer’s Market at Blair Middle School. 4:00 pm. Rip it. 
Grand Opening Party at Selden Market. 5:00 pm. Rip it. 
Friday Night Live at COVA Brewing Company. 6:00 pm. Rip it  
Friday Night Magic: Commander at Atlantis Games & Comics. 6:00 pm. Rip it   
Amy Kaus performs live at Maker's Craft Brewery. 6:00 pm. Rip it
Succulent Arrangement Workshop at Water’s Edge. 6:00 pm. Rip it. 
Paul Urban performs live at Elation Brewing. 6:30 pm. Rip it
Pride Night w/ the Admirals at Norfolk Scope. 6:30 pm. Rip it
April Open House at 757 Makerspace. 7:00 pm. Rip it
Chloe Youtsey performs live at Brothers. 7:00 pm. Rip it 
The Wines of New Zealand at Vino Culture. 7:00 pm. Rip it. 
Durm Circle at Mystic Moon Norfolk. 7:00 pm. Rip it.
Norfolk Admirals vs. Reading Royals at Scope Arena. 7:05 pm. Rip it
Friday Night Magic: Draft at Atlantis Games & Comics. 7:30 pm. Rip it
Stanger String Quartet Concert at Diehn Center for the Performing Arts. 7:30 pm. Rip it
Tamia & Joe performs live at Chrysler Hall. 8:00 pm. Rip it 
Barricade performs live at OV Beach Tavern. 8:00 pm. Rip it.
Girl-Prov at Push Comedy Theater. 8:00 pm. Rip it
Cannons performs live at The NorVA. 8:00 pm. Rip it
Chicken & Biscuits at Little Theatre of Norfolk. 8:00 pm. Rip it 
Gabriel Donohue plays at Grace O'Malley's Irish Pub & Restaurant. 8:30 pm. Rip it
John Brad performs live at Grain. 9:00 pm. Rip it. 
Pajama Party: Improv Comedy and Storytelling at Push Comedy Theater. 10:00 pm. Rip it 

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