ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, December 1, 1995 TAG: 9512010078
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
TAX INCREASES are presumed to be the hemlock of modern politics, but they need not always be. Roanoke County supervisors should at least avoid leaping to that conclusion in considering how to pay for a new Cave Spring high school (or two smaller schools, should that idea be revived).
A quick civics reminder: Society has legitimate needs, which government has the responsibility to address. In a democracy, the people who collectively benefit also collectively pay for the cost of public services - the most important of which is public education.
As a societal good, public schools are needed to produce a competent labor force, an electorate capable of self-government, and successive generations of young people applying creative skills to the challenges that move communities forward and make life better for us all.
All of which suggests, of course, that not just the parents of students who would attend a particular school are responsible for paying for it. This point should be evident enough. Voters are aware of the vital role that education plays, and generally are not averse to paying for it - if they're convinced a need exists and will be met wisely.
There has been little or no argument about the need for a new Cave Spring high school (or schools) in fast-growing Southwest County. The question is how to pay for a proposed $33 million facility.
Would it be wise to drain the county's $7 million reserve fund and defer any other major project for four or five years - gambling that no expensive emergency will arise in that time - to avoid any tax increase?
Would it be wise to raise the real-estate tax 2 cents ($20 a year on a $100,000 home) and defer other needs till 2001, when the county's current debt burden will drop by $2 million a year? Both the county and schools would have to find cuts in their budgets to make this work.
Or would it be wise to raise the real-estate tax as much as 5 cents, an option that the county administration says would allow for a comfortable level of operating funds - but probably still would require cuts in the county and school budgets, though not as deep.
The administration will have details about the implications of these options for the Board of Supervisors to consider when it meets Dec. 12. Such details will presumably influence members' votes on how to pay for the school. But a couple other factors also should be considered.
One is that the last change in Roanoke County's real-estate tax rate was a 2-cent decrease in 1991, to the current rate of $1.13. The last increase was a decade ago, when the rate went from $1.12 to $1.15 in 1985. The amount of tax paid has risen, of course, as the value of properties has gone up, but this is a mixed blessing, at worst.
A rapidly urbanizing suburban area, such as Roanoke County, has to meet steadily increasing demands for services. It is reasonable to expect occasional, modest tax increases to pay for them: especially for something as important as a school (or schools).
Another factor is that most taxpayers, while truly fed up with what they perceive as out-of-control borrowing and spending by "the government" (any government), also tell pollsters that they are willing to pay a little more - if they can see what they're paying for and they want it. Bottom line, they want to see fiscal responsibility. Sometimes fiscal responsibility requires higher taxes.
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