Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 21, 1991 TAG: 9103220848
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETSY BIESENBACH/ SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
During a public hearing at its regular meeting Tuesday, Town Council voted to leave the 1991 real-estate tax rate at 5 cents per $100 of assessed value, the same rate that applied in 1990. But because of a 4.6 percent increase in real-estate valuations, homeowners will see an increase in their tax bills, said Town Manager Brad Corcoran.
No citizens attended the hearing.
Since 1983, when the tax rate was 25 cents per $100 of assessed value, the town has managed to lower taxes every year, Corcoran said.
"It's one of those things that we would have liked to have kept on doing," said Mayor Charles Hill, but because of economic conditions and budget cutbacks from the state, setting a lower rate was impossible.
For fiscal year 1990, the total valuation of real estate within the town was $187,934,500. For 1991, that figure will be $196,606,500, an increase of $8,672,000. In 1990, total revenues from real-estate taxes were $93,967. Projected revenues for 1991 will be $98,303, bringing an additional $4,335 to the town.
Even with the increase, Corcoran said, Vinton still has "one of the lowest real-estate tax rates in the Commonwealth."
After approving the real-estate tax ordinance, council voted to leave the personal-property tax rate at $1 per $100 of assessed value. Personal property taxes bring approximately $318,000 in revenue to the town each year, Corcoran said.
All monies collected are put toward the daily operating expenses for the town.
At a work session after the regular meeting, council made nominations to Virginia Municipal League committees. The committees meet two or three times a year, in the summer and spring, to discuss league policy, Corcoran said.
Council nominated Corcoran for to the Community and Economic Development Committee. Hill will serve on the Effective Government Committee. Councilmen Roy McCarty, Ray Sandifer, Don Davis and Bobby Altice were nominated to the education, environment, transportation, and public service committees, respectively. Town Attorney Frank Selbe was nominated to the Human Development Committee.
During the work session, Corcoran also asked council members to review the town's 1991 solid-waste management plan and to relay their comments to him by Friday.
Corcoran said he hopes to discuss the final plan at the April work session.
by CNB