Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, November 14, 1995 TAG: 9511140069
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: HOT SPRINGS LENGTH: Medium
Regional proposals by the Urban Partnership were killed by the association of counties' 30-member board of directors Sunday before one of its committees could debate whether the plan should be included in its 1996 legislative package.
Officials from Chesterfield, Fairfax and Prince William counties led the strong opposition to the proposal that the state create a $50 million annual pool to reward successful regional partnerships. The coalition plan calls for the fund to grow to $200 million a year.
Each partnership would formulate a list of goals, and a report card would gauge how well each regional partnership met the goals and would determine how much each region could get from the incentive fund. A separate state commission or an advisory committee would divvy up the money.
Robert Dix Jr., chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, said his chief concern over the plan was that there was no source of money for the proposed incentive fund.
``To ask for new money for new programs without any indication of where it would come from sends a very mixed message, as far as what our priorities are,'' Dix said.
``My hope is that the message that will go forth to the General Assembly is that this organization has great concerns over this initiative and is opposed to it in its present form,'' Dix said during the association's annual conference in Hot Springs.
The Urban Partnership's plan could resurface today, the last day of the conference, during debate over the association's legislative package. But the proposal probably will arrive with the association prepared to work against it.
``Our executive director and association attorney and lobbyist are duty-bound to oppose this legislation,'' Chesterfield County Supervisor Harry Daniel said. ``That was the message of our board.''
Neal Barber, the Urban Partnership's executive director, said Sunday's vote was not a fatal blow to the initiative. ``We plan to move forward with our recommendations and legislative proposals in the General Assembly,'' he said.
The partnership originally proposed adding a half-cent regional sales tax or using state lottery revenue to create the incentive fund, but abandoned those ideas in the face of strong opposition.
Barber noted that the association's legislative package long has supported regional approaches to government services and encourages the state to provide financial incentives for regional cooperation.
Daniel objected to the creation of a new commission to oversee distribution of the $200 million incentive fund. ``No one endorsed the creation of any new state commission to administer this,'' he said.
There also were objections to elements of the plan to distribute incentive money based on the disparity formula used by the Virginia Department of Education, and to a call to establish a uniform tax rate among localities in a region.
The Virginia Municipal League, which represents the state's cities and towns, narrowly endorsed the Urban Partnership's plan last month. The plan drew fire from the league's town and small-city members.
Memo: NOTE: Shorter version ran November 15, 1995 in Metro edition.