Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 15, 1995 TAG: 9501160005
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Elizabeth Obenshain
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In Richmond, the real debate got under way this week as the General Assembly's Democratic leadership confronted Gov. George Allen's "I-dare-you" budget. As political strategy, Allen's $2.1 billion tax-cut package put his political opponents off balance with little to say other than sputter.
Few Democrats like the Republican governor's proposals - or think they are good for the state - yet facing a November election some rather candidly admit they lack the backbone to fight and risk angering voters.
At a time when private companies are having to tear themselves apart and put themselves back again in meaner and leaner shape to compete in today's world, Allen's call to trim state government sounds good to a lot of folks.
"If we have to suffer, why shouldn't state employees?" could be the motto for stressed Virginians.
The General Assembly's budget decisions will have an unprecedented impact on the New River Valley as the scramble for state tax dollars unfolds over the next two months. Higher education will be one of the chief battlefields.
Virginia Tech's Extension Service will have to justify its existence. In a state with fewer farmers but where agriculture is still a huge chunk of the economy, some farmers see the Extension Service as one state program that actually works; others see it as a program that has long outlived its usefulness.
Virginia Tech will also be fighting for funds axed by Allen for the university's high-profile new conference and training center at the Hotel Roanoke.
Radford University, having surrendered before the battle even started over the College of Global Studies, will fight for $1.6 million the Allen administration cut when the university flunked its restructuring effort last year.
The stakes are high. With the concentration of state dollars and employees at the two universities, budget and staff cuts have a greater impact on the local economy here than even in Richmond.
Large universities - like large corporations - can benefit from restructuring to face a changing world, and Virginia Tech has already adjusted to major budget cuts over the past five years. But there is undeniable pain - both personal and institutional - that accompanies such change.
In the New River Valley, that pain is not restricted to campus. Budget cuts and hiring freezes ripple throughout our local economy.
But the greatest impact on local taxpayers could come from Allen's proposed elimination of the business tax levied by towns and cities.
Allen's tinkering with a source of revenue for local governments is one of the ironies of his proposal.
As a Republican who lauds fiscally conservative government, it seems strange that Allen would target the thriftiest level of government - towns and small cities such as Christiansburg, Blacksburg and Radford. Yet his proposal would force these local governments in the years ahead to lean increasingly on local property taxes - probably the most unfair form of taxation.
The conservative types who run these towns would seem natural allies of a Republican governor. John Lemley, Christiansburg's legendary town manager, could be the poster child for tight-fisted government.
But Lemley is among the municipal officials sounding the alarm over Allen's proposal.
These are some of the tough budget battles ahead in the next two months - battles that will determine Virginia's face as we enter the 21st century.
The question facing Republican and Democratic legislators is how to make this state more efficient without sacrificing its great assets? Will tax cuts make us more attractive than spending on higher education?
Budget cuts in the past six years have already sent Virginia sliding from 28th in per-student funding for higher education to 43rd.
Maybe our new state motto could be "Virginia: We're still ahead of Mississippi in funding higher education."
Elizabeth Obenshain is the Roanoke Times & World-News' New River editor.
by CNB