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

DATE: TUESDAY, March 31, 1992                   TAG: 9203310313
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG                                LENGTH: Short

MONTGOMERY BUDGET OK'D; NO TAX RAISE

The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors cut the budget for next year on Monday night and managed to avoid any increase in the real estate tax rate.

The board approved, on a 4-3 vote, a $61.3 million budget which will be financed partially with a 70-cent real estate tax rate.

The budget is $200,000 less than what the board advertised for a public hearing.

The supervisors also voted to reduce a county decal tax on cars and trucks from $21 to $18 next year.

The budget includes a 4.5 percent raise for county employees and for employees of the school system. Supervisors Joe Stewart and Nick Rush tried to persuade fellow board members not to approve any raise next year.

No cuts were made in the school system's $41.3 million portion of the budget.

But the board used $204,485 that the state is sending to the county to address education disparities to help hold down the tax rate and to finance gear for county firefighters and some other new additions to the budget.

Supervisor Jim Moore tried to persuade the board to add the disparity money back into the budget for the school system, but was able only to muster one other vote for the proposal.

An additional $1,000 was added to the budget for the Montgomery County Museum.

by CNB