ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 24, 1996 TAG: 9601240063
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
A 2-cent increase in Roanoke County's real estate tax is the maximum that would be required to repay bonds for a new Cave Spring High School and other school projects, the Board of Supervisors said Tuesday.
The supervisors agreed that the tax rate, now $1.13, would not be increased above $1.15. A 2-cent increase would mean an additional $20 in taxes per year on a $100,000 house.
County Administrator Elmer Hodge said a smaller increase - or none at all - might be needed to pay off the $37.4 million school bond issue in the April 2 referendum.
Hodge said this would depend on revenue projections for the next budget year and General Assembly actions affecting local revenues.
Last month, the supervisors discussed the possibility of a 3-cent tax increase, which would have meant an additional $30 per in taxes on a $100,000 house.
But the board pledged Tuesday to limit the increase to 2 cents after Finance Director Diane Hyatt said the smaller boost would have only a small negative impact on the county's operating budget.
A 2-cent increase would generate $700,000 a year in additional revenue, which would be used to repay the bonds.
School Board Chairman Jerry Canada and other school officials, who had urged the supervisors to make a commitment on the tax issue, were pleased with the decision.
"Now we can go forward with our informational campaign," Canada said. "We can tell voters how it will affect them."
School Board members asked the supervisors to decide on the repayment plan so they could begin distributing informational brochures and answer voters' questions on the tax issue.
Michael Stovall, vice chairman of the School Board, said school officials can now answer voters' questions about how the bond issue will affect them financially.
Supervisor Lee Eddy opposed the decision to make a commitment on the tax issue now, saying he disagreed with the timing.
"January is far too early. We don't have enough information now to make that decision now," Eddy said. But he agreed the board should act before the referendum.
The General Assembly might take action that could have a significant impact on local revenues, Eddy said, but other supervisors did not seem worried about this possibility.
"I'm concerned that if we wait until March to make a decision, the voters won't make an informed decision on the bond referendum," Supervisor Harry Nickens said.
Supervisors Chairman Bob Johnson said the School Board had made an appropriate and reasonable request. School officials should know the answer to the tax issue as they proceed with the campaign, he said.
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