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

DATE: THURSDAY, February 23, 1995                   TAG: 9502230092
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

MONTGOMERY FINANCE CHIEF: SPENDING REQUESTS TOO HIGH

Such an astronomical tax increase is extremely unlikely. The board barely agreed on a 2 1/2 cent real-estate tax increase one year ago, the first significant jump since early 1991. The rate now stands at 72 1/2 cents per $100 of assessed value.

But county Finance Director Carol Edmonds used the figure to show the Board of Supervisors the impact of an 8 percent spending increase requested by the county School Board. It would require a 131/2-cent tax-rate increase alone to cover the schools' request.

Supervisors Chairman Larry Linkous and board member Nick Rush said they probably wouldn't support any tax increase this year, which comes on the heels of 1994 real estate reassessments.

Two other supervisors said it's too early to decide.

Whatever, the budget debate will have particularly political overtones this year.

Four supervisors' seats and School Board seats will be up for election in the fall. Linkous holds one of them, but he's already announced he's leaving the board to seek a General Assembly seat. Rush, Ira Long and Joe Gorman hold the others and are expected to seek re-election, though they haven't made formal announcements.

The early signs are that school spending will be the focus of the coming budget debate. The board discussed reviewing new spending initiatives as the first possible places to cut the budget.

The 1994-95 School Board budget, which runs through June 30, earned praise last year from the Board of Supervisors and disgruntlement from educators and their PTA allies.

This year, it could be the other way around.

The School Board's proposed $49.3 million budget would require another $2.8 million in local tax money beyond the $20.3 million already set aside for schools, which use about 68 percent of local taxes. The $2.8 million increase, combined with $728,000 in proposed new county spending, equals a $3.5 million shortfall between current tax revenues and the budget requests.

The Board of Supervisors and its staff considers this first draft a "worst-case" budget that could change, depending on whether the General Assembly restores three cuts that otherwise would cost the county $123,900.

But even then, the spending plan is millions out of kilter.

The supervisors will hear School Superintendent Herman Bartlett explain the School Board's budget Monday night. Then they'll begin the weeks-long whittling of the 1995-96 spending plan into something more politically palatable. They'll advertise a proposed budget and tax rate in early March and hold a public hearing March 22 at Christiansburg High School. Then the board will set the tax rate between March 30 and April 5.