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PORTSMOUTH

Gov. Terry McAuliffe will visit Portsmouth on Thursday to announce a plan to help people struggling with tolls.

Few details were available Wednesday afternoon, but according to a statement, he'll discuss a "proposed budget amendment designed to help ease the financial burden of tolling."

The governor's trip comes a week after The Pilot published a story about three women with tunnel toll debts as high as $18,000. Hours after the story was published online, Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne told the Commonwealth Transportation Board during a meeting that he was disappointed by the tolling operator's business practices, a message he reiterated in a letter he sent the company on Friday.

Layne's letter, addressed to Elizabeth River Crossings CEO Greg Woodsmall, said certain low-income, first-time offenders should be given a chance to settle all of their violations for $1,100 with a payment plan if they signed up for a relief program rolled out this year. About 2,000 have signed up for the program, whose application cutoff was Feb. 15.

He admonished ERC for punishing motorists with what he described as unreasonable fees and urged the company to trim large debts. The letter noted that even though ERC has agreed to a $2,200 cap for first-time court convictions, it's still socking some drivers with five-figure bills.

"Charging amounts greater than $2,200 against first time toll violators, or to propose settlement greater than that amount with first time toll violators, runs counter to the spirit and intent" of the agreement, Layne wrote. "Recent media disclosures pertaining to the fees, penalties, and interest on toll violations highlight my own concerns as to the reasonability of such charges being levied by ERC."

Another legislative directive has already been folded into the state's budget to give VDOT more oversight of ERC. It calls for the agency to come up with a plan by November to track toll-road use, violations, civil penalties, and administrative fees charged and collected by private operators each year.

For those drivers without active E-ZPass accounts, the pay-by-plate system works by taking photos of license plates and sending invoices. There's a $3.30 processing fee, and then a $5 late fee if the toll isn't paid by the first listed due date. If a second deadline isn't met, ERC tacks on $10 per trip. After that, the debt is sent to a collection agency, and ERC adds a final $7.50 fee.

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Gov. Terry McAuliffe to visit Portsmouth Thursday for toll relief announcement

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PORTSMOUTH Gov. Terry McAuliffe will visit Portsmouth on Thursday to announce a plan to help people struggling with tolls. Few details were available Wednesday afternoon, but according to a statement, he'll discuss a "proposed budget amendment designed to help ease the financial burden of tolling."

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U.S supreme court

U.S court of appeals

U.S district court

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appoints cabinet officers

prepares annual budget for congressional action

administers federal burrency

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VIRGINIA BEACH

At least a few City Council members don't want to see a tax increase to expand full-day kindergarten.

City Manager Dave Hansen, who laid out his 2017-18 budget plan last week, proposed a real estate tax hike of 1.25 cents per $100 of assessed value. That would move the rate to slightly more than $1 and generate about $6.75 million to help the school division put full-day kindergarten into more schools. It would also help expand a pre-kindergarten program.

Councilwoman Jessica Abbott posted Tuesday on her Facebook page that she opposes full-day expansion. She argued that the city has other pressing concerns and pointed to research suggesting that benefits of full-day programs wane over time.

Chloe Gibbs, a University of Notre Dame professor who has studied education extensively, is among those who say full-day kindergarten improves literacy skills in early elementary school years. Some note that long-term data is less conclusive, though. "We don't know a lot about the persistence of those effects," Gibbs said.

"Our students would get a much better bang for our buck by things like continuing to reduce class sizes or increasing access to technology," Abbott wrote.

Councilman John Moss was more direct.

"There is no justification to raise real estate taxes for Full Day Kindergarten," Moss wrote on his Facebook page.

Some council members support full-day expansion. Vice Mayor Louis Jones said it would better prepare children for first grade, help parents' work schedules and reduce child care costs. Councilwoman Rosemary Wilson taught kindergarten in the 1970s and 1980s. She said the state now creates a curriculum geared toward full days.

"Our teachers are trying to meet the full curriculum, but they have to do it in half of the time," Wilson said.

Still, both Jones and Wilson said they'll be looking for ways to help the program grow without raising taxes. The council will vote on a budget in May.

Virginia Beach is one of three divisions in Virginia without full-day kindergarten for every child that age. Chesapeake and Loudoun County are the others.

If Virginia Beach division officials got the funding, they would gradually increase the number of schools with full-day from the current 12 to about 22 in 2017-18 and ultimately 53 in 2021-22. Adding teachers, teacher assistants, classroom furniture and supplies would cost about $12.9 million, they estimate. The pre-kindergarten expansion would cost roughly $1.1 million over the five years.

In a 6-5 vote in early March, the School Board asked for about $14.1 million to support full-day expansion and other needs.

Board leaders are not disappointed with Hansen's proposal, though. Dan Edwards, Virginia Beach's vice chairman, noted that $6.75 million was a figure the board talked about extensively when debating how much money to request.

Board chairwoman Beverly Anderson said she would prefer to get $14.1 million. But Hansen's plan would still allow the division to increase full-day kindergarten programs over the next two years, to about 32, she said.

An elementary school teacher for more than 36 years, Anderson said academic benefits aren't the only reason to expand the program. All taxpayers contribute to the school system, she said, so it's fair that every child have access to the same opportunity.

"I'm just so thrilled we are going to be able to start implementing full-day kindergarten," she said.

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Some Virginia Beach council members oppose tax hike for full-day kindergarten

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VIRGINIA BEACH At least a few City Council members don't want to see a tax increase to expand full-day kindergarten. City Manager Dave Hansen, who laid out his 2017-18 budget plan last week, proposed a real estate tax hike of 1.25 cents per $100 of assessed value.

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(Senate and House of representatives)

make laws for the nation

approve president appointments

approve annual budget