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

DATE: THURSDAY, September 23, 1993                   TAG: 9309230159
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: KENNETH SINGLETARY
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

IT'S NOT A BIG TOWN, BUT ITS BUDGET REPORT'S IMPRESSIVE

The town of Christiansburg presented its report for 1992-93 at Tuesday night's Town Council meeting, and, well, rivetingly dramatic it is not.

Informative, though, it is. And that's the idea, town officials say.

"We may be able to enlighten someone about the town," said Lance Terpenny,

assistant town manager. "It gives anyone who wants to know some idea of what local government is doing."

Inside its snazzy beige cover, adorned with the catchy title "ANNUAL REPORT," the curious reader will find facts and figures both useful and at least somewhat interesting.

For example, right there on page one, just after the table of contents, begins a veritable Who's Who of town officials. Here we learn that John Lemley continues to be town manager, as he has been since the Eisenhower administration, and that Terpenny's first name is actually "R.," as in "Robert."

Page two and three shows us that the town has five sitting boards or commissions, including, of course, the well-known Planning Commission, but also something called the "Armory Board of Control," which may not be so well known.

Then there's a list of which Christiansburg representative sits on what New River Valley area boards and commission and the lineup for council committees.

Informing council about what's going on in town is one of the reasons for publishing the report, said Terpenny, adding that as far as he knows, producing the report is not a legal requirement. Lemley, who is usually point man on matters such as these, was out of the office Wednesday.

"We publish it to give council a synopsis of where we've been and where we're going," Terpenny said.

But that doesn't mean members of the public can't read it. They can, though few do, he said.

And he mentioned as well that other towns in the New River Valley, notably Blacksburg, publish annual reports. A call to your local government office should tell you if yours does.

But most folks in Christiansburg, anyway, seem happy to let town government go on without their input, Terpenny said. That is, until taxes go up.

The report is available to the public at town offices, Terpenny said, though he's not sure if there's a price tag attached. For Christiansburg taxpayers, this year's annual report shows that the town's budget is in the black to the tune of $700,000. The town's revenue during the fiscal year was $8.6 million and its expenditures were $7.9 million.

Indeed, if you have a head for numbers, the annual report is so full of them it may send tingles up your spine. It provides you with juicy minutiae: the town has 3,938 street signs, 117 of which were installed this year.

And you can learn things that might be a little more important, such as that the Planning Commission approved all 22 requests for conditional-use permits it received.

Sixty-one building permits were issued for single-family dwellings, the same number as the previous year. There were 252 requests for approval for permits for alterations or repair, up from 213.

And the town collected $757,000 in real estate taxes and just over $340,000 in personal property taxes in 1992.

Of course, sympathetic people may feel sorry for the poor souls who were called upon to put this document together. It is, after all, the kind of publication only an accountant could love.

But Barbara Albert, Lemley's secretary, who was charged with the task, said she actually had a good time doing it.

"I enjoyed the heck out of it," she said, though she added that it entails" a lot of research. You have to backtrack during the year."

The project is a challenge, what with getting all those budget numbers to come out straight, she said.

But the bottom line, Albert said, is "It's interesting. I really learn a lot."

And for other folks hoping to learn something about Christianburg's government, this year's report may provide enough reading to last awhile. In fact, maybe till the next one comes out.