Has VA Beach changed over the last 7 years

[goofy328]

Originally Posted by karenblan

Anyone wanting to move to Va. Beach should take a look at all of the additional charges on the water bill! I live in a small (around 800 sq.ft.) duplex and my water bill is over $200.00 every two months. The city decided that residents should pay for trash pick up, they call it 'solid waste collection fee'. It used to be paid by a 'General Fund', but the city council changed all of that in January 2012. The fee continually increases along with other 'fees' tacked onto the water bill. What happened to the money from the 'General Fund'? It went somewhere! I posted this in 2012.:


"Solid waste collection fee on water bill
Has anyone been paying attention to their water bill? In the city of Virginia Beach we now pay a 'Solid Waste Collection' fee that is attached to the water bill. This service used to be free to the citizens of V.B. and was paid out of a 'General Fund'. Each and every household in V.B. is now paying approximately $22.00 a month for something that was free and it won't stop there. It will continue to go up. Good going V.B. City Counsel, let's run all of the tax paying long time residents out of the city and even out of the state. The average person cannot afford to live here any longer unless they are in the military and are getting certain breaks for that. (Well deserved of course but what happens when they move out, who is paying the taxes then?) It sneaks up on you, it started @ $10.00 a month on January 2012, then to $13.00, now $21.36 and will increase again on July 1, 2014.

This is what I found on the V.B. website:

http://www.vbgov.com/government/depa...tingBudget.pdf

Waste Management Special Revenue Fund - The FY 2013-14 budget furthers the transition of this operation to an Enterprise Fund by raising the monthly charge from $10 to $21.36, and eliminating all General Fund support to this fund. Page 1-51"


Look it up for yourself. Regular tax paying citizens cannot afford to live here any longer.

Free trash collection? So, because the money used to come out of the General Fund, you were never on the hook for it? It never came out of other taxes you paid to Virginia Beach?

It just seems like a petty beef to have with the city; there will always be some expense or inconvenience you have to pay, that doesn't mean the city is unaffordable.

[jillybean720]

Originally Posted by goofy328

It just seems like a petty beef to have with the city; there will always be some expense or inconvenience you have to pay, that doesn't mean the city is unaffordable.

I agree it seems petty. Most other places have much higher trash/recycling collection fees. Where I moved from, I believe we paid about $50/quarter. Waste collection was private, not run by the city, so you had your choice of 3-4 different companies, but all were about $60+ per quarter. Granted, they collected trash twice per week and recycling every time, which I definitely miss (our cans fill up very quickly here), but the prices here are very reasonable, even if included on the water bill.

[goofy328]

Originally Posted by jillybean720

I agree it seems petty. Most other places have much higher trash/recycling collection fees. Where I moved from, I believe we paid about $50/quarter. Waste collection was private, not run by the city, so you had your choice of 3-4 different companies, but all were about $60+ per quarter. Granted, they collected trash twice per week and recycling every time, which I definitely miss (our cans fill up very quickly here), but the prices here are very reasonable, even if included on the water bill.

I think the real issue is that Virgina Beach overpromises and under delivers. Its like the current mythology of Atlanta. You hear so many great things about it. Then you move there and realize that there are too many idiosyncrasies to deal with to count. Doesn't make Atlanta a horrible place to live. Its just the personification
that makes the city human.

Virginia Beach is just supposed to be this perfect city that has learned from older cities mistakes. It works until you have to deal with old city problems.

[jillybean720]

Originally Posted by goofy328

I think the real issue is that Virgina Beach overpromises and under delivers. Its like the current mythology of Atlanta. You hear so many great things about it. Then you move there and realize that there are too many idiosyncrasies to deal with to count. Doesn't make Atlanta a horrible place to live. Its just the personification
that makes the city human.

Virginia Beach is just supposed to be this perfect city that has learned from older cities mistakes. It works until you have to deal with old city problems.

I was agreeing with you. And only talking about trash collection. Every place has its own quirks

[goofy328]

Originally Posted by jillybean720

I was agreeing with you. And only talking about trash collection. Every place has its own quirks

I knew you were in agreement with me I was just putting that out there for the forum.

[karenblan]

Is that a question?