Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 7, 1991 TAG: 9103070432
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS/ NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The supervisors will hold public hearings on March 21 on a $57.94 million budget for the 1991-92 fiscal year and on proposed increases in rates for real estate, personal property, merchants capital and other taxes.
The vote on the proposed taxes and budget was not unanimous. Supervisors Todd Solberg, Ann Hess, James Moore and George Gray voted for the advertisement and Chairman Henry Jablonski and Vice Chairman Joe Stewart voted against it.
Without the proposed tax increases, the supervisors' budget plan would face a $1.2 million shortfall. Solberg suggested that the county not ask the owners of real estate to bear all the burden of making up that difference.
The supervisors propose to boost the real estate rate from 68.5 cents to 73 cents on each $100 of assessed value, which is a 6.6 percent increase. But increases in other tax rates include:
Personal property from $2.15 to $2.30 on each $100.
Machinery and tools from $1.70 to $1.82 on each $100.
Merchants capital from $6.05 to $6.45 on each $100 of 20 percent of assessed value.
The county's motor vehicle decal will also go up from $15 to $21, and there will be an increase in the consumer taxes on gas, electric and telephone service.
Because of the recent reassessment, the real estate rate has been by law lowered from 81 cents to 68.5 cents to prevent an increase in taxes simply because of the higher property values. Board members originally thought the rate would be set back a penny further, but they got a surprise Wednesday.
County Administrator Betty Thomas said she was "a little shocked" after seeing the change in the overall county assessment following the work of the Board of Assessors, which reviews individual complaints. What at first appeared would be a $321 million increase in county property values appears to have been slashed to $295.5 million. That is a 19 percent instead of a 21 percent increase in the value of taxable property.
The supervisors started Wednesday night's budget meeting with a $1.03 million shortfall, but $100,000 to a capital projects fund and $75,000 to the Public Service Authority for capital needs were among late additions to the budget. Money also was added for the New River Valley Hospice and the New River Valley Free Clinic, each of which will get about $5,000.
Jablonski voted against the proposed budget because his fellow supervisors were adding to it in some areas without cutting in others to compensate. He also opposed increasing the county's merchants capital tax, which he said is among the highest in the state.
An attempt by Jablonski to cut $200,000 out of the school system's budget failed, with only Stewart supporting it. Jablonski said he doesn't think the school system should be hiring new people in this tight budget year and in particular cited new instructional aides, which will be hired to provide duty-free lunch for elementary teachers.
Jablonski also pointed to an analysis done by the county's staff for Supervisor Gray that shows the share of the county's discretionary funds going to schools increasing steadily from 66.76 percent in 1986-87 to 75.16 percent in the proposed budget.
"I appreciate having to put money into schools; at the same time you have to have an appreciation for the other functions we have," Jablonski said.
Although the school budget was not cut, the board took steps to ensure that extra money the county may get from the state for schools will free up local funds.
The board, with the exception of Solberg, accepted a proposal by Gray that $300,000 be taken out of the school budget and put into the county's general contingency fund in anticipation that the schools will be receiving about $500,000 more in state aid than expected because of General Assembly action. If the extra state aid comes through, the supervisors will use the contingency money for other county projects. If not, the money will be returned to the school budget.
"It's too . . . high. There's no reason for it at all," is the way Stewart explained his vote against the budget. He mentioned specifically the school and county administrator's budgets as being too costly.
"You've got a school system plumb top-heavy with high-paid administrators," Stewart said. "We've got a lot things in this county that's too heavy that should be cut," he said.
The budget hearing will be held at Christiansburg High School and will start at 7 p.m. The tax rate hearing will follow at 8 p.m.
by CNB