PETERSBURG, Va. -- Amid questions about city management and water bill issues that are still unresolved months after they came to light, Petersburg Mayor W. Howard Myers delivered his second state of the city address Thursday night.
Myers said the city is "slowly improving," called for fiscal accountability and responsibility, pointed to new construction and redevelopment in the downtown corridor as signs of change, and said city leaders would make decisions that are necessary for stability not general popularity.
Petersburg Mayor W. Howard Myers
What Myers did not address during his remarks was a more than $3 million budget shortfall in 2015, calls by many vocal residents for the resignation of the city manager, and problems with water bills that residents have been experiencing for months.
Earlier this week,CBS 6 Problem Solvers reported that some Petersburg residents have not received a water bill from the city since fall of 2015. Others got bills that were hundreds of dollars higher than usual despite no change in their water usage.
CBS 6 attempted to ask Myers about these issues. After offering several "no comments," a city employee put her hand in front of a CBS 6 camera and said "You can shut off the camera. Bye-bye. Thank you."
Residents said they are unhappy with city management.
Petersburg residents at the speech were less optimistic than city leaders about the state of the city.
"There are some problems that need to be addressed: the transparency, the answers to the citizen's questions," said Kay Beale, a life-long Petersburg resident who saw her water bill spike last fall. "Things need to be answered, and they need to be corrected, not just a, 'We'll take care of it.'"
"How could you paint a picture that everything is rosey? We'd like to believe that, but the reality just does not support it," said resident Larry Smith.
City manger William Johnson was at Mayor Myers' speech Thursday. When asked about calls for this job, he said everyone has a right to voice their opinion, but he would not comment further.
