2010 Campaign Issues & Stances

Animal Lovers

Animal Lovers support Bill DeSteph because he has been the strongest advocate on Virginia Beach City Council of a new, adoption friendly animal shelter for the City of Virginia Beach.

Bill DeSteph has worked for better vaccination procedures, increased funding for Animal Control, veterinary services and to keep the animal license fees dedicated to the animals, not the general fund.

Law Enforcement

Law Enforcement Officials know that while they are busy training and protecting our city day in and day out, Bill DeSteph is watching out for their interests by supporting pay increases, better benefits and full staffing at all levels. Bill DeSteph knows that protecting Virginia Beach citizens is best accomplished by supporting the men and women who serve our city in every way possible.

Public Safety & EMS

Fire Fighters and First Responders know that Bill DeSteph is the member of City Council that makes sure when the call comes in, they have the equipment they need to do the job. Bill DeSteph has consistently done ride-along's and taken walks through some of our most unstable neighborhoods to see what else can be done to provide needed services.

Home Owners

With a reputation as a "fiscal hawk," Bill DeSteph has put forth an alternative plan to City Council each year he has served to continue providing City services at current levels with no property tax increase-a welcome idea for hard-working taxpayers in these tough economic times.

School Teachers

Bill DeSteph has continued to support our public school teachers by fighting to return full levels of funding to our school system by keeping the funding formula unchanged.

Our public school teachers need all the support our elected leaders can give and Bill DeSteph works to see that they get it-and keep it.

A New Shelter for Homeless and Unwanted Pets

The current situation at the Virginia Beach Municipal Animal Shelter was nothing short of unacceptable. Animals were coming in, staff was unable to render the treatment these animals needed and sadly, far too many of these animals never found the home they could have had-and deserved.

Councilman Bill DeSteph worked tirelessly with the animal welfare community to understand the root causes of the problem, how our current shelter became non-compliant with the standards set forth by the State Veterinarian and immediately began working to improve conditions with the ultimate goal of building a new, state-of-the-art animal shelter-that is "Adoption Friendly."

Among Councilman DeSteph's efforts and initiatives;

Fought to insure that animal license fees go towards the construction and upkeep of the new animal shelter-not the city's general fund,
a staff Veterinarian to help better asses the conditions of arriving animals, provide some of the care they need such as vaccinations, spay/neuter services and micro-chipping,
provide vaccinations to animals as they arrive at the shelter to help combat the spread of communicable diseases from one animal to another,
support the efforts of those promoting our municipal shelter as a great place to find their next pet and encouraging off-site adoption events,

Councilman Bill DeSteph's efforts are paying off-many animals who might not have otherwise been adopted have found homes with families to care for them.

His efforts have also prevented another over-priced city project with a more modest, but equally capable shelter that will meet our needs today and well into the future.

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Supporting Our Police

Virginia Beach is fortunate to have one of the finest police departments in the country and because of their efforts, Virginia Beach has one of the lowest crime rates for a city of our size.*

This doesn't happen by accident-it takes proper amounts of funding for police patrols, innovative enforcement methods as well as the right tools to do the job we ask of our police men and women.

Ever since Bill DeSteph was elected to Virginia Beach City Council, he has recognized what an important role our Police Department has in keeping our neighborhoods safe and our crime rates low. He has also accompanied our men and women in blue as they patrol our streets to gain insight into the problems confronting not only our Police Officers, but to understand the needs of the Citizens they serve.

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Fire & EMS Services

Councilman Bill DeSteph has a proven track record of supporting our law enforcement, fire department and EMS service providers when they need a voice on Virginia Beach City Council.

Bill DeSteph has a consistent record of voting to support our public safety officials service. Matters of pay and benefits are among the top priorities Bill DeSteph has pressed for because without a competitive compensation package, our city could become a "training ground" for entry-level public safety workers, only to lose them to cities that offer them more.

Bill DeSteph has also been working within the structure of City Government on converting our public safety employees to a pay structure that would;

eliminate compression,
reward tenure, and
attract quality employees.

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Homeowners Support Bill DeSteph

In the city of Virginia Beach, it is a well-known fact that homeowners carry the majority of the tax burden when you're taking about total revenue to our city treasurers office. In fact, property taxes from homeowners account for 87% of property tax revenue to the City of Virginia Beach.

This is exactly why Bill DeSteph has fought against every tax increase and has worked to decrease the burdens placed on homeowners already under siege from government taxation.

In this tough economy, over-taxing homeowners who might already be struggling to keep their homes is a formula for economic disaster. With tax revenue falling right along with home values, now is the worst possible time to make up lost revenue on the backs of homeowners.

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Bill DeSteph Supports Education

As a successful member of the local business community, Bill DeSteph knows the value of a well-educated work force and the value that large corporations place on good public schools when considering a new location.

Virginia Beach has a public school system of which we can all be proud and Bill DeSteph has worked with City Council as well as School Board members to identify the issues our schools confront and assure that they have the resources needed to meet any challenge.

Bill DeSteph also invoked state law allowing a "line-item vote"* on a funding bill where he supported building a new animal shelter and opposed taking funding away from our school system.

*Official City Council vote as recorded and on file at Virginia Beach City Hall

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