Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, December 16, 1994 TAG: 9412160048
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Last month, the city and county agreed on a consolidation plan under which the county would become a city - the state's largest in land mass. The existing city would become a shire, a semi-independent government similar to a town.
The shire would retain its own elected representatives and provide its own services. But it also would lose some offices to consolidation.
The current city's elected treasurer and registrar would be lost to the merger. So would its tax collection and assessment office. Instead, the new city would provide those services to its residents and residents of the shire. Employees in the eliminated offices would become employees of the new city.
Bedford County Administrator Bill Rolfe said the city and county have planned no job cuts except for those of the elected officials. But residents would not see any immediate savings from the eliminated positions because state law guarantees the salaries of the registrar and treasurer through the end of their terms.
Joint services now provided by the city and the county, such as schools, courts and social services, also would be the domain of the new city, which would take on $4.5million in services now provided by the city.
To balance that, the new city would tax shire residents. But city and shire taxes combined would be no more than what current city residents are paying.
The consolidation agreement states that tax rates for residents of the county and the current city would not rise because of the merger.
by CNB