ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, January 4, 1996 TAG: 9601040025
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: E-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHARLES STEBBINS STAFF WRITER
Vinton has joined most other municipalities in Virginia in adopting a legislative "wish list" to aid their coffers.
A proposed 1996 Legislative Program that Town Council adopted Tuesday is almost the same as a legislative program adopted by the Virginia Municipal League, said Town Manager Clay Goodman.
The proposal, being sent to Vinton legislators Sen. John Edwards and Del. Richard Cranwell, deals with business, professional and occupation license taxes; state aid for some town operations; health benefits for municipal employees; funding with state mandates; local autonomy; and a sovereign immunity plan that would make it more difficult for municipal officers and employees to be sued over government related issues.
But council's approval was not unanimous.
Councilman William E. Obenchain Jr., objected to a proposal that would limit health benefits for heart, lung and cancer disorders among municipal employees.
Obenchain, a Roanoke firefighter and a former volunteer firefighter in Vinton, said the proposal mostly affects firefighters, and he is opposed to restricting benefits.
Vinton's proposal recommends legislative action that would require non-work health factors be considered when determining benefits, Goodman said.
One of the main concerns, not only with Vinton but also with nearly every municipality in Virginia, is the business, professional and occupational license tax, known as "BPOL." Some legislators are proposing that the tax be eliminated, but Vinton is asking that the tax, a major source of income for most localities, be kept.
Goodman said BPOL brings in about $300,000 in revenue a year for Vinton. Also, he said, Roanoke County of which Vinton is a part, gets about $3 million annually from the BPOL.
Unfunded state mandates for projects such as solid waste disposal and recycling also are among the concerns of most municipalities. Vinton is urging that the state be required to provide funding with all of its mandates to local governments.
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