South Boston's proposed $15,057,950 operating budget for FY 2002-2003 contains no property tax increases, but does contain a five percent hike in water and sewer rates.
The E911 user fee will increase to $2.50 monthly.
The surcharge increase is a result of the consolidation of E911 services with the county, and reflects the new $2.50 monthly fee to fund the operation, Town Manager Ted Daniel said.
"The proposed South Boston budget for FY 2002-2003 to be adopted by June 30 calls for a total of $15,057,950 to be appropriated for all town funds," Daniels said.
"The $2,381,244 increase over the current year's budget is due to $1,265,320 the town will receive from the state for The Prizery ISTEA/TEA-21 Grant.
"The town will receive these funds as fiscal agent on behalf of The Prizery, which begins construction in the next fiscal year.
"The budget also calls for $1,554, 295 in prior year general fund monies to be used to retire a $1,500,000 bond anticipation note taken out in April 2001 to accomplish state-mandated sewer rehabilitation work."
Daniel said that by retiring the bond anticipation note with available general fund assets additional borrowing for water and sewer and further rate increases could be avoided.
"The basic proposed town budget for the new year would be $12,238,335 if the grant and bond monies were not included in the overall funds that have to be appropriated," added Daniel.
He concluded by saying that the FY 2002--2003 Town budget would then be $438,371, or 3.5 percent, less than the current budget of $12,676,706.
According to the proposed budget, any town employees receiving pay increases would receive the increases based on merit.
Daniel explained that council's decision to retire a $1.55 million note used for rehabilitation of the town's water and sewer system, as well as a $1.36 million state ISTEA grant for use at The Prizery were responsible for the increase in operating expenditures.
The increase in water/sewer rates is driven primarily by the recent $1.84 million federal EPA grant awarded South Boston to assist with its Sanitary Sewer Overflow Abatement Project.
That grant requires a 45 percent match from non-federal funds.
Recommended budget allocations by fund include (with last years budget allocations in parentheses): General Fund, $9,886,535 ($7,630,554); Landfill Fund, $488,470 ($993,277); Drug Fund, $28,897 ($17,375); Cemetery Fund, $157,867 ($123,955); Water and Sewer Fund, $3,877,633 ($4,530,093).
Several department heads, including William Murray (Fire Department), Jim Hall (Police Department), Vandie Saunders (Finance) and Tamyra Vest (Community Development), answered council's questions concerning proposed funds allocated to them.
Murray explained the need for a new heating and air conditioning system for his fire station, one that would drastically reduce electricity use, according to initial surveys.
Hall answered questions regarding the proposed $1,814,840 police budget, a 2 percent decrease from last year's budget allocation.
Vest, the Community Development coordinator, explained funding proposals for a reprinting of the South Boston Centennial booklet and approximately $1.475 million in grant money earmarked for the first phase of a construction project at The Prizery.
Vest also updated council on proposed funds for the county's welcome center, to be located initially in town hall until its permanent location is readied at The Prizery.
Initial costs for setting up the welcome center were quoted at $16,000, with the county and town contributing $8,000 each.
Council scheduled its second budget workshop for the end of its next council committees meeting on April 25, when other department heads will appear to answer any questions.
Other Council Business
Town Council approved a resolution requesting recreational access road funding for the proposed Paul C. Edmunds Jr. Memorial Park.
The resolution requests the Department of Conservation and Recreation designate the park as a public recreational area and recommends to the board that access funds be allocated for construction of the road.
The town plans to bring the access road up to VDOT standards in order to turn over maintenance responsibility to that agency.
Town Council also set a tentative date of June 21-22 for its biannual planning retreat.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation announced yesterday grade loan rates for the 2002 crop of flue-cured tobacco, based on the price support level of $1.656 per pound.
The loan rates range from $1.24 to $1.94 per pound.
For the 2001 crop, the price support level was $1.66 per pund and the grade loan rates ranged from $1.24 to $1.92 per pound.
The Flue-Cured Tobacco Cooperative Stabilization Corp. will deduct one-cent per pound from the grade loan rates for administrative overhead costs for tobacco placed under loan.
Loans are not available on flue-cured tobacco identified by a 2002 Tobacco Marketing Card bearing the notation "No Price Support" or "Discount Variety - No Price Support."
Tobacco offered for price support that does not have a certification that it is free of curing-barn insulation would have a loan value of zero.
The 2002 Tobacco Marketing Card will be marked with the notation "NO CERTIFICATION" and "CERTIFICATION" at the auction warehouse.
For tobacco identified by a 2002 Tobacco Marketing Card bearing the notation "Discount Variety - Limited Support," the applicable rates are one-half of the rates quoted in the schedule plus 50 cents per hundred pounds.
Any grade to which the special factor "sand" or "dirt" is added (denoting a moderate of sand or dirt in excess of normal) may be accepted at 90 percent, rounded to the nearest cent, of the rate listed in the attached schedule.
Also, loans are unavailable on tobacco grades P4G, P5G, P5L, P5F, X4KV, X4G, X4GK, X5G, C4G, C4GK, B4KV, B5KV, B6KV, B5V, B4G, B4GK, B5KL, B5GK, B6KF, M4KM, M4KR, M4GK, M5KM, M5GK, N1BO, N1K, N1R, N1KV, N1GF, N1GG, N1GR, N1L, N1GL, N1XL, N1XO, NO-G (no grade), N2 (second quality nondescript), W (doubtful keeping order), U (unsound) or scrap.
However, marketings of these low grades will be charged against the quotas established for farms on which they were produced.
Further program information is available from Steve Freeman, telephone (202) 720-7445, e-mail steve.freeman@wdc.usda.gov.
The individula grade loan rates for the 2002 crop of flue-cured tobacco follow can be seen in the chart above.

The 18th century tavern on Spencer's Hill south of Halifax will come down within days, and real estate broker and developer Wayne Stevens will build a brick office building at the site.
The office building is part of a 10-acre Stevens' development plan, which will include a self-storage facility on land behind the office.
Stevens also plans to develop the adjoining five acres along Highway 501 just south of the town.
"That is a nice tract of land," Stevens said yesterday.
"We are trying to attract some retail, perhaps an anchor store with some small businesses," he added.
"It depends on the anchor. We are talking with a couple of companies."
Currently the five-acre site is serving as a storage area for modular homes. Stevens said that lease expires in August and that it will not be renewed.
Stevens said yesterday that he plans to add two real estate agents and an additional appraiser to his firm when the company moves from its Halifax Road location to the Spencer's Hill site.
The 2,700-square-foot office will also house Chaparral Investments, which holds a number of investment properties in the county.
The second level of the office building, about 1,500 square feet, will be unfinished, but available for expansion.
The developer said that he plans to incorporate some of the tavern's old boards for flooring in the office's reception area. He also plans to save a tavern mantel for use in the building.
Stevens will develop the Halifax self-storage area in phases. The first phase will include about 100 units ranging in size from 50 square feet up to 300 square feet each, with the predominant size 100 square feet.
"The storage site will be fenced, have lights and an electronic gate," added Stevens.
The old tavern, variously known as Federal Hill, Edge Hill and Moses Palmer's tavern, carries a late 18th century date in its oldest section, according to Halifax historian Robert G.D. Pottage.
"It has been severely remodeled several times in the 19th and 20th centuries," said Pottage.
Changes have included its lowering by a full story by Major H.L. Edmondson, according to Pottage.

The Halifax County School Board encountered no major roadblocks Monday night in adopting a record $47.7 million 2002-2003 school budget package.
One School Board member, Carl Furches, voted against the proposed budget, making the final vote 7-1.
Other than some concern voiced about funding for athletics and music, the School Board sailed through its public hearing and the budget adoption vote.
The $47,733,475 budget package, which contains an average six percent pay hike and a tidy increase in insurance benefits for employees, will now go on to the Board of Supervisors.
Supervisors will get their first close look at the school budget Thursday night in a joint meeting with the School Board.
That meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. and will be held at the County Administration Office in Halifax.
The average six percent pay hike for teachers and school system employees, a proposed $120 per month increase in the contribution to employee group health insurance benefits, four new personnel positions and the purchase of 10 new school buses are the major items in the budget package.
An appropriation of $12,968,593 from the Halifax County Board of Supervisors will be needed to support the budget.
That is $1,020,206 less than the $13,988,799 that was appropriated by the county to fund the current year's $43.4 million school budget.
The figure represents a decrease of 7.29 percent decrease in local dollars for the proposed 2002-2003 budget.
The total budget figure of $47,733,475 represents a 9.9 percent increase over the current year's budget.
The reversion of the county's composite index to .2380 from .3706, results in a shift of approximately $4 million from local funding to state funding in next year's budget.
Halifax County is expected to receive $29,407,663 in state funds next year, a total that represents an increase of $5,334,376 over the current year.
Three individuals spoke during the public hearing including South Boston resident Jimmy Popek who voiced concern over an apparent lack of funding for athletics.
"One of my concerns in the budget is the lack of funding for sports teams and an increasing reliance on the booster clubs," Popek said.
"The booster clubs are having to spend money on things I don't believe the booster clubs should be spending money on."
Popek pointed out that it was football booster club that shouldered most of the expense of the resodding of the football field at Tuck Dillard Stadium, purchasing the kind of mower necessary to mow the grass and installing an underground sprinkler system.
When asked what should the booster club be spending its money on, Popek pointed to the need of upgrading the facilities at Tuck Dillard Stadium.
"One situation we have is that the Virginia High School League has said we cannot have any post-season play here because of our facilities," Popek noted.
"I'd hate to see you spend $275,000 on a track and then have to bring heavy equipment in here on it later."
Popek concluded by suggesting that school system officials take a look at a long-range plan for revamping the facility.
Kenneth Cranford of South Boston, a well-known musician, pointed out to the School Board a need for funding to repair and or replace unused and unusable band instruments at Halifax County High School.
"It has come to my attention that there are a number of musical instruments belonging to the high school that are not playable," Cranford told the body.
"The amount of money that is made available (for repairing the instruments) gives out very quickly."
Cranford, who is working with the Piedmont Community Band, noted that he personally ordered a crook for the school's baritone saxophone and that a number of piccolos are in need of repair and pieces of percussion instruments are missing.
He urged the body to take a further look at funding for the music program and other fine arts programs in the schools.
"Music is just as important as academics in a lot of ways," Cranford stated.
The other individual that spoke during the public hearing was John Woody, a representative of the school system's custodial staff.
Woody asked for a brief clarification of the proposed six percent pay hike for employees.
Later in the meeting, School Superintendent Dennis Witt told the body that discussions about the band and choral programs have been undertaken with Halifax County High School Principal Albert Randolph with the idea of trying to find ways to increase the number of student participants.
"It (the number of participating students) is too small for the size of the school," Witt said.
"We may bring forward a recommendation to address that."
"While we're looking at the music I'd like to look at the choral, too," said School Board member Patricia Nelson.
Witt told Nelson that both aspects of the music department are being examined.
"We may be asking one person to do too much to be responsible for both programs," Witt said.
Nelson asked Witt if block scheduling is a deterrent.
"Block scheduling is not the answer," Witt noted,
"There are other schools on block scheduling with strong music programs. The students are not coming out and we're not building the numbers the way we think we should."
School Board member G.C. Ratliff offered an opinion that the School Board should be careful in how it spends money, particularly the dollars coming from the decrease in the county's composite index.
"The county has a window of opportunity to put up some bales of hay, so to speak," Ratliff said.
Witt agreed.
The school superintendent also added, "You can't ride the train we're trying to ride on with the tax base and tax rate we have in Halifax County."
Ratliff, a sports enthusiast, pointed out that other schools in the district Halifax County competes in appear to have larger athletic budgets.
He also noted that there are facility needs which need to be addressed, particularly those involving the greater revenue-producing sports such as football.
School Board member Alan Gravitt then asked school system officials to compile the athletic budgets at the high school and middle school for the school board's review.
That having been done, School Board member Carl Furches expressed an opinion that block scheduling is contributing to the downfall in participation in music and that vocational education will soon follow.
"I see a nonexistent vocational program within a few years," Furches said.
"It is the SOLs (the state 's Standards of Learning) doing it, not block scheduling," Witt replied.
Incentives For Recruiting Teachers
The School Board took no action Monday night on a proposal for incentives to recruit teachers.
Witt proposed that the school system offer teachers coming into the school system for the first time a one-time signing bonus of $1,000.
For professionals who would be coming into the school system to teach, it was proposed to offer them a year of experience credit for every two years of professional experience.
However, the School Board did not take action on the proposal, tabling it for later discussion.
Witt pointed out that the school system currently offers a $1,000 signing bonus but that it has a three-year cap.
His proposal with the signing bonus was to eliminate the cap and make the bonus available to any new teacher, regardless of experience level, who signs on with the school system.
"It's an incentive for everybody," Witt said.
Gravitt, noting that there has been a concern for at least five years regarding the school system's ability to attract the better-qualified teachers it needs, particularly in specialized areas, asked "Do you really think that will do it?"
Larry Clark, assistant superintendent for Human Resources, told the body that he feels the suggestion aired by Witt will help the county recruit teachers.
"We feel this is a positive step," said Clark.
"We are a rural county and we have problems attracting people to a rural county like everybody else does."
After hearing some suggestions for some more aggressive possibilities, Witt told the body it needs to be careful with this issue and make sure that it doesn't do something that will do more harm than good in the long run.
"We've made almost no progress in the five years I've been on the board," Gravitt said.
"I'm frustrated."
Nelson stated she had no problem in removing the experience cap on the signing bonus.
When asked about the cost, Clark replied, "It would have cost us less than $15,000 this year if we had given a signing bonus to everyone this year."

The Halifax County High School varsity girls' softball team scored two early runs and put together a combined no-hitter to win its first game of the season Monday, 8-1 over visiting Dinwiddie.
Comets' pitchers Kristi Myer and Emily Pool combined for the no-hitter, while striking out nine batters and walking three.
The Comets committed two errors.
Myer went five innings to pick up the win, with Emily Pool getting her first action of the season by pitching the final two innings.
The Comets got off to a good start in the first inning, as Lindsey Hastings walked to start the game.
After Dominique Fountain was hit by a pitch, Sprattley smacked a hard single to left field, loading the bases.
Hastings scored on a wild pitch before Jennifer Roller walked to load the bases again.
Fountain was out at home on a close play while trying to score on a wild pitch before Myer's sacrifice fly scored the second run of the inning.
Dinwiddie used a walk and an error to score its only run in the third inning before the Comets score twice in the fourth inning.
Singles by Emily Stolzenthaler and Mashonda Dismuke followed a walk to Myer, before Erica Owen smacked a two-RBI double to give the Comets a 4-1 lead.
The Comets scored three more times in the fifth inning with Kristi Tuck and Pool contributing RBI singles.
Owens and Myer each went 1-3 with 2 RBIS to lead the Comets, while Sprattley went 1-4 with three runs scored. Hastings was 2-4 at the plate.
The Halifax County High School varsity softball team, now 1-2 for the season, was back in action here yesterday with a home game against Randolph-Henry.

Harvey Luck Dixon

Harvey Luck Dixon, 79, of Sebring, FL, died April 4 in Sebring.
Born in Cluster Springs, he had been a resident of Sebring since 1964, coming from Lynchburg. He was a postal carrier, served in the US Army during WWII, and was a member of the American Legion in Avon Park, FL. He was also a member of First United Methodist Church in Avon Park.
Survivors include his wife, Edith Gravitt Dixon; three sons, Harvey Luck Dixon Jr. of Sebring, Kenneth Gravitt Dixon of Kissimmee, FL and Allan D. Dixon of Sebring; one daughter, Lisa Dixon Bogolub of Odessa, FL; and five grandchildren.
Services will be held Friday, April 12 at 2 p.m. at Shady Grove United Methodist Church with the Rev. Don Davidson officiating. Burial will take place in the church cemetery.
The family will receive friends Thursday evening from 7:00 until 8:30 at Powell Funeral Home in South Boston.
Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider Shady Grove United Methodist Church Cemetery Fund.

Donna Jean Ferrell

Donna Jean Ferrell, 41, of 1036 Guilltown Road, Clover died April 6 at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Ms. Ferrell was born in Halifax County on March 5, 1961, the daughter of the late Harold Chester Ferrell Sr. and Estelle Crews Ferrell. She was a member of St. Matthew Baptist Church.
Survivors include one son, Kelvin Ferrell of Clover; five sisters, Barbara Crawley of Clover, Sheila Brooks of Scottsburg, Brenda Snead of South Boston, Arnita Lacks of Randolph and Kim Ferrell of Chase City; and one brother, Harold C. Ferrell Jr. of Clover.
Funeral services for Ms. Ferrell will be held at St. Matthew Baptist Church with the Rev. Dr. Whitfield Scott officiating on Arpil 12 at 2 p.m. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
The family is receiving friends at the home of Mr. and Mr. Kelvin Lacks, 4175 Black Walnut Rd., Randolph.

Isabelle Stephens Hendricks

Isabelle Stephens Hendricks, 91, of 1101 Jones Lane, Halifax died April 7 at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mrs. Hendricks was born in Halifax County on December 5, 1910, the daughter of the late Robert Stephens and Mary Ella Chambers Stephens and was married tot he late James H. Hendricks. She was a member of County Line Baptist Church.
Survivors include one daughter, Bessie S. Younger of Halifax; one sister, Lillie Terry of Philadelphia, PA; two brothers, Joseph Stephens of Nathalie and Luther Stephens of Java; three stepsons, Benjamin, Levi and Lloyd Hendricks, all of Philadelphia; one son-in-law, Gordon Younger; three grandchildren; and one great-grandson.
Funeral services for Mrs. Hendricks will be held tomorrow, April 11 at 11 a.m. at County Line Baptist Church with the Rev. Otis Dillard officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
The family is receiving friends at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Younger, 2225 Meadville Rd., Halifax.

Louis Powell

Louis Powell, 81, of South Boston died April 4 at Halifax Regional Hospital.
Mr. Powell was born May 3, 1920, in Halifax County and was married to the late Martha Florine Majors Powell. He was a member of Banister Hill Baptist Church and was a WWII Army Veteran.
Survivors include three daughters, Mary Ann Dunkley of South Boston, Eunice C. Powell of Burlington, NC and Jeannetta S. Wilkerson of Philadelphia, PA; two sons, John Powell of South Boston and David C. Powell of Bloomington, MN; 16 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren and one son-in-law, Benjamin Dunkley of South Boston.
Funeral services for Mr. Powell will be held today, April 10 at 1 p.m. at the Chapel of Jeffress Funeral Home with burial to follow in Oak Ridge Cemetery.
The family is receiving friends at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Dunkley, 1512 Ridge St., South Boston.