Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 8, 1995 TAG: 9507100001
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RON BROWN STAFF WRITER FINCASTLE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Two years ago, a farmer stood in front of the Botetourt County Board of Supervisors and said he didn't need additional county services and couldn't afford a tax increase.
Moments later, another resident stood up. If taxes were needed to have fewer children per teacher in county classrooms, she said, then she'd be willing to pay the price.
In recounting those stories, Bill Loope, vice chairman of the Board of Supervisors, spelled out the budget dilemma of a county in transition.
Newcomers on the southern end of the county are demanding more services, creating tension between the county's historically conservative financial nature and its rush toward suburbanization.
The rumblings can be heard in the schools, where teacher salaries lag behind those of other Roanoke Valley systems, and the ball fields, where parents want better restrooms, lighting and playing surfaces.
The discussion surrounding Botetourt County's $36.1 million budget, which took effect July 1, reflected the tensions over competing priorities.
Todd Geist, vice president of the Blue Ridge Recreation Club, said about 80 people in the Blue Ridge area worked to get ball fields there ready for opening day. Geist said the baseball fields had ``rocks as big as your fist'' in both the infields and the outfields.
``It's been the same story for years,'' he said. ``The county is not taking care of the fields.''
Geist argued that the county needs to maintain the fields year-round to get them ready for play in the spring.
``To parents who have kids playing up there, it is important,'' Geist said.
The Board of Supervisors said it would hire someone next year to do routine maintenance on the fields.
The supervisors are banking on rapid industrial growth to keep the county's tax base ahead of the needs of the county's rapidly expanding population.
``We have to balance residential growth with industrial growth,'' Loope said. ``The tax from residential property will not provide the money needed for the school budget alone.''
With those facts staring it in the face, the board gets a little bit protective of its financial planning, especially when pushed to make expenditures over the amount budgeted.
That was especially evident last month, when school officials pushed supervisors to allocate $113,000 in additional funds in this year's budget to give teachers a 5 percent raise rather than a 4.25 percent raise.
Even with that increase, teacher salaries lag behind other localities, said Rod Dillman, assistant superintendent of schools.
``We're not catching up,'' he said, but added, ``At least we're not falling further behind.''
As it is, Botetourt teachers make less than teachers in Franklin and Roanoke counties and Salem and Roanoke. And it takes them longer to get to the top of the pay scale, where they make less money than in other localities.
For example, a teacher in Franklin County starts at $24,000 and reaches the top pay in 10 years - $36,977. In Botetourt, a teacher makes $23,564 to start and takes 25 years to reach the top - $35,346.
Dillman said the county would have to spend at least an additional $1 million to fix the problem. That may be difficult when the county needs more teachers as the population grows. Last year, the school system added 12 teachers to reduce the size of elementary school classes by five pupils per classroom. The classes ranged from 30 to 35 pupils.
This year, after some wrangling, the supervisors agreed to let the school system keep any excess money in this year's budget. School officials estimate the surplus will be about $150,000, which would also allow the purchase of a bus.
This type of skirmish is inevitable for a locality that is trying to minimize tax-supported expenditures yet meet the service demands of a growing suburban population.
The supervisors are determined that increased demands will not be paid for through a real estate tax rate increase. The county has not increased the tax rate in 14 years, while reassessing property only every five years.
The county's real estate tax rate has been 75 cents per $100 of assessed value since 1982. However, property values have risen from about a half-billion dollars in 1982 to nearly $1 billion in 1995.
Board Chairman Bob Layman said reassessing property only every five years has disciplined the county's spending. And the board has resisted the temptation to reduce the tax rate or spend more money in the years when extra revenue is available, he said.
``If we reduce the tax rate, people will remember that until tomorrow,'' Layman said. ``If we raise the tax rate, they'll remember that for years.''
by CNB