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

DATE: FRIDAY, March 17, 1995                   TAG: 9503170027
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

TYPICAL HOMEOWNER COULD SEE 9 PERCENT TAX-BILL INCREASE|

The Montgomery Board of Supervisors agreed Wednesday to advertise a 74-cent real-estate tax rate before a 7 p.m. March 29 public hearing at Christiansburg High School.

That represents a 5-cent increase once the current tax rate is adjusted down to 69 cents to account for last year's reassessment. In discussions, the board often uses the $100,000 assessment figure as a benchmark to gauge the effect on typical taxpayers.

Typically, the board advertises a proposed rate that's higher than the one it ultimately settles on. Last year, for instance, the board advertised an 8-cent increase and finally agreed to a 2.5-cent change.

If you assume the assessment on the $100,000 home increased its value by 6.5 percent - the countywide average in last year's reassessment - that would mean the homeowner's taxes would increase from $725 to $735 if the Board of Supervisors didn't raise taxes.

That small increase is because state law gives a local government up to 1 percent leeway following a reassessment in adjusting the tax rate.

But with the proposed 5-cent tax increase, the homeowner's tax bill would jump to $788, a change of $63 or 8.7 percent. That's if you figure the new assessment at $106,500 and tax it at a rate of 74 cents per $100 of assessed value. That tax would be split into payments of $394 due in June and December.

The actual percentage increase for taxpayers would vary slightly depending on how much their assessment changed in the notices mailed late last year and where they live. Property owners in Christiansburg and Blacksburg pay taxes to the towns on top of the county rate. Blacksburg's proposed budget includes a slight tax increase, too.

When the Montgomery board began budget deliberations last month, the total spending plan for 1995-96 stood at $75.8 million and was $3.5 million out of balance between revenues and requests.

The county finance director revised the shortfall this week to $2.5 million, after identifying state revenue that will be restored to county and school budgets because of the General Assembly's rebuke of Gov. George Allen's proposed cutbacks.

Under the proposal that will be advertised this weekend, Montgomery would spend $69 million in the budget year beginning July 1.

That's down from the original proposal for two reasons. First, because a $5.6 million chunk of operations is being moved to the new Montgomery Regional Solid Waste Authority, which will take over operation of the county landfill in July. Second, because another $1.3 million is being cut from spending requests because the board chose to advertise a 5-cent increase rather than an 11 cent jump, which would have paid for the entire $2.5 million gap.

After the public hearing the board can set the real-estate tax rate at 74 cents or lower, but it cannot set it higher than advertised.