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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 24, 1993                   TAG: 9311240123
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-3   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY  
SOURCE: STEPHEN FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

HANDLE SURPLUS WITH CARE, BOARD TOLD

But the county's fiscal management director told the Board of Supervisors Monday night: Be careful how you spend it.

"Caution should be the watchword," in the board's budget work, advised Jeffrey Lunsford, in a board work session.

One-time influxes of revenue from local sales, general property and other real-estate-oriented taxes helped drive budget revenues up more than $479,000 compared to previous estimates, Lunsford said.

But because these numbers sprang from isolated situations - like last August's Family Motor Coach Convention in Blacksburg - they can't be relied on as indicative of the economy in general.

Without them, "you basically have no growth," he said.

Lunsford told the board to anticipate having an additional $1.25 million to spend on undesignated projects in fiscal year 1994-1995. The county's total budget is $66.8 million.

Lunsford also provided a rough list of projects the board needs to consider paying for, such as operating costs for the new Blacksburg elementary school. Of 11 possible things to consider, the approximate costs for five added up to $1,121,626. Question marks were beside the other six.

Lunsford warned board members that the revised revenue estimates are tentative, that the county must woo businesses and high-tech industry if it wants economic growth, and to watch for possible cuts in aid from a state facing a $500 million deficit next year.

"Thanks for the good news," supervisor Nick Rush said sarcastically.

In other business:

The board voted unanimously to rezone to general business 25.8 acres of land behind the Wal-Mart and Kmart shopping centers at U.S. 460 and Peppers Ferry Road. The land is the last undeveloped piece of real estate between the retail hub of the New River Valley Mall area and the proposed path of the highway linking the Blacksburg and Christiansburg bypasses of U.S. 460.

A special meeting will be held Monday to further discuss pending bond projects for the Falling Branch industrial park site, the health and human services building and Blacksburg branch library improvements.

The board adopted unanimously the six-year plan for secondary road improvements, which the county uses to help the state Department of Transportation prioritize improvements to the county's rural roads.

First on the list is a plan to widen and overlay 1.68 miles of Prices Fork Road from Blacksburg to Virginia 736. Work is scheduled to begin in September and is expected to cost $1.13 million.

The board voted 5-0 to allow the New River Valley Health Department to hire two-full time employees to work with its home health care program.

Because of new Internal Revenue Service regulations, the department had been forced to cut its home health care employees' hours to 28 per week, said Nursing Director Judy Williams. Consequently, those employees would look for full-time work elsewhere.

"We have the money to pay; we just don't have the [slots]," Williams said.