ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, February 28, 1996 TAG: 9602280106
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: S.D. HARRINGTON STAFF WRITER
The Roanoke County Board of Supervisors vowed Tuesday night not to raise real estate taxes this year to help repay bonds for a new Cave Spring High School and other school projects.
County administrators and board members worked together for three weeks on the proposed tax rate increase, County Administrator Elmer Hodge said.
It was determined that the bond issue would not accrue debt until the next fiscal year. Therefore, a tax rate increase would not be necessary this year, Hodge said.
The board voted last month to limit any increase to 2 cents per $100 of assessed real estate value. The current rate is $1.13 per $100.
That 2-cent increase would have generated an additional $700,000 a year in county revenue and been used to begin repaying $37.4 million in bonds if county voters approve the bond issue in the April 2 referendum.
Tuesday, the board needed to give Hodge a specific tax rate to advertise for a public hearing in March.
Board Chairman Bob Johnson said he was confident the county could find ways to repay the bonds without having to raise taxes.
``This task in front of us is not insurmountable and does not require a tax increase,'' he said. ``I believe we have enough money in the bank to get us through this crisis.''
If the county did go with a 2-cent tax increase, county homeowners would have paid $20 more a year on a $100,000 house.
Supervisor Lee Eddy was the only board member to vote against the decision not to increase the tax rate, saying it is too early for that.
With budget hearings for the 1996-97 fiscal year scheduled in the next few months, Eddy said, the county may face obstacles making a tax increase necessary.
Other board members said they considered the problem of voting so early not to increase taxes for the coming year.
``I am also concerned about the challenges that face us, but we have been through them before and we will overcome them,'' said Supervisor Harry Nickens.
Supervisors will again determine a year from now whether a tax increase is needed.
Hodge said board members have told him that they want to do everything possible to prevent having to raise taxes next year.
In other action, the Board of Supervisors told county staff members to study options for preserving a 400-acre farm off Virginia 311 in Catawba.
The state owns the farm, which is used for research by Virginia Tech, and has identified it as surplus land that may be sold to fund the 1996-98 state budget.
But county officials agreed Tuesday that preserving the land would be in the interest of the county - particularly because of its value to the Appalachian Trail, which overlooks the farm.
``I think we ought to do what we can to preserve it,'' Eddy said.
Catawba residents have raised concerns in recent months that the land could face development if the state sells the land. The state estimates the land could go for as much as $1.2 million on the open market.
Supervisor Spike Harrison recently wrote letters to Sen. Malfourd ``Bo'' Trumbo, R-Fincastle, and House Majority Leader Richard Cranwell, D-Vinton, expressing the county's interest in preserving the land as open space.
Harrison said Tuesday that Cranwell has responded and offered support.
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