LARGE TAX RISE NOT EXPECTED

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, January 23, 1992                   TAG: 9201230226
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-8   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER
DATELINE: PULASKI                                LENGTH: Medium
LARGE TAX RISE NOT EXPECTED
Pulaski taxpayers can relax a little.
Mayor Gary Hancock said Tuesday night that, although Pulaski County's reassessment increased land and building values within the town about 13 percent, it does not mean everyone's taxes are rising that much.
In fact, Town Manager Don Holycross pointed out, any reassessment that would increase total real property taxes by 1 percent or more would require Town Council "to either reduce the tax rate or to treat the reassessment as a tax increase and to schedule a public hearing on such an increase."
Hancock said there seemed to be a misunderstanding by many who talked to him that taxes would jump by the same rate as the reassessment with no council action. "They do not automatically go up," he said.
Councilman C. Donald Crispin had said earlier in council's meeting that taxes should be reduced if the reassessment raises values, to let people generally be paying the same amounts as before. Apparently that must happen anyway, unless council makes a decision later to raise taxes.
Crispin also complained of used Christmas trees being placed in Gatewood Lake, the town's water source, and was echoed in his concerns by Councilman Andy Graham.
Such trees are sprayed with pesticides and other chemicals and then decorated, he said. "Since we do not know what is on the trees when they are discarded, we have no idea what environmental impact these trees would have on the quality of the water in Gatewood Lake."
Graham said he checked with the city of Roanoke and learned it allows no dumping of trees or anything else in Carvins Cove reservoir. He said a state health official in Abingdon said, if it was not known what the trees were sprayed with, they should not go into the Gatewood reservoir.
Holycross said he had the same concerns when the parks and recreation director asked that the trees be placed in the lake to improve the fish habitat. He checked with the state health department and was told there was no problem. State Game and Inland Fisheries representatives helped with the placement, he said.
"It just hits me wrong . . . It's not the place to landfill our Christmas trees," Graham said, making a motion that council be consulted in the future about anything going into the lake. Council adopted a substitute motion instead by James Neblett to refer the matter to the utilities committee for a recommendation.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB