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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 6, 1994                   TAG: 9404060078
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

BOARD OKS TAX INCREASES

Five members of the board agreed to raise the real estate tax rate by 2 1/2 cents per $100 of assessed value and the personal property tax rate by 15 cents.

That new revenue will balance a 1994-95 spending plan of $70.6 million that goes into effect July 1. Car owners and homeowners will see the increase on tax bills that will be due in June.

Supervisors Joe Stewart of Elliston and Ira Long of Prices Fork voted against the increase.

"Hell, no," Stewart said, when asked for his vote.

The board debated at least a half-dozen other tax-increase proposals - at one point conducted in a sort of auction format by board Chairman Larry Linkous - before reaching consensus.

The amount is far less than the 8-cent real estate and 25-cent personal property tax increases the board advertised last month.

To close the $2.6 million gap between proposed spending and revenue, a majority of the board agreed to a series of major cuts and new revenue sources, including:

Holding up $420,000 for the county schools until the School Board returns slightly more than $500,000. County officials believe that amount was an unintended surplus created by a budgeting error in the current year.

Delaying the sale of bonds to pay for the new Christiansburg health and human services building and renovations to the Blacksburg library branch until the fall to save $389,000.

Using $300,000 left from last year's bond sale for the new Blacksburg-area elementary school to pay for debt service on the project. This amounts to freeing up $300,000 in revenue to be used elsewhere.