THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, November 7, 1994 TAG: 9411070075
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN JOLLY DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: EASTVILLE LENGTH: Long : 132 lines
Northampton County's tax policy darts around like a startled sea gull. For years, taxpayers have been assaulted by a series of stunning changes.
Waterfront farmers watched as the assessments of their real estate jumped as much as 300 percent in one year. The board of supervisors passed, re-passed, and rescinded illegal tax breaks for businesses as the state's attorney general watched with disapproval.
Tax increases for real estate and personal property have ranged from zero to 24 percent. And the designation of agricultural/forestal districts - one way to give farmers tax relief - has collapsed in recent months into a swamp of accusations about illegal procedures.
It's time to stabilize, say top county officials.
``The tax structure in Northampton County needs to be addressed,'' said Tom Harris, administrator of the county.
Exactly. But nobody wants to bite the big bullet.
Stuart Oliver is one waterfront farmer who doesn't want county revenues to be stabilized on his back. His 686-acre farm on Church Neck has several miles of frontage on beautiful Hungars and Westerhouse creeks. In 1987, his tax bill was $5,768. By 1992, the farm was assessed at $1,161,900 and he paid $10,921 in taxes.
One year later, after a controversial reassessment, Oliver's property was assessed at $2,054,200 and his taxes were $13,969.
He's angry because nearby parcels, similar to his in many ways, have lower assessments. Oliver says he wasn't able to get a hearing before the county Board of Equalization to try to lower his assessment. And he was enraged by the lottery that Northampton officials devised to select parcels for tax-saving Agricultural/Forestal district designations. His property was not chosen.
Oliver is so mad, he's suing the county. He contends that Northampton's procedures for distributing real estate tax breaks are ``arbitrary and capricious.''
``I'm starting to take all this stuff personally,'' said Oliver. ``There hits a point where you're being exploited.''
``Who causes the problems in the county, anyway?'' he asked. ``Farmland doesn't create the problems we have, as far as services that are required. What landfill support do I need? What school do you have to provide for that vacant land? What police protection does it need? Farmland doesn't need jails.''
Statistics from other communities around the country show that farmland pays far more in taxes than it uses in services, said Oliver. For every tax dollar its owners pay, agricultural land uses 20 cents in services. By comparison, residential property uses $1.22 for every dollar collected, he said.
Northampton's comprehensive plan, and every other economic development plan the county has devised recently, stresses the need to preserve the community's rural character. But high taxes on landowners could force development.
Oliver's grandfather owned a 1,000-acre farm in the middle of what now is Virginia Beach near Pembroke Mall. As a result, the family has plenty of experience with developers. Oliver says he has considered turning his farm into a golf community.
``If I keep seeing this kind of abuse, at some point I'm not going to take anymore,'' said Oliver. ``There's going to be a `For Sale' sign out there. I'll promise that. There's too many places where you can buy land and have reasonable use of it and not be taxed to death.''
Many local farmers support the creation of land-use taxes in Northampton. With this system, farmland would be taxed less than land used for other purposes. Sixty-four of Virginia's 95 counties have some form of land use taxation, including nearby Accomack County.
Northampton created a task force to look into the impact of this kind of tax break. It concluded that, should such a policy be implemented, 20.4 percent of the county's tax burden would be shifted onto homeowners and businesses - a prospect that doesn't thrill anyone but big landowners.
``There's too much disparity already,'' said Ginger Hale, member of the Northampton Taxpayers' Association and past president of the Cape Charles/Northampton Chamber of Commerce. ``Why can't we share the load? We used to have a social contract in this county so we all could have schools and fire departments. We have to seek equity.''
Businesses that own machinery and tools, farm equipment or heavy construction equipment can be given tax breaks, according to state law. But hotels, restaurants, doctors' offices and dozens of other businesses don't fit into these categories.
As a result, the machinery they own is taxed at the same rate as a car or other personal property. In Northampton, the personal property tax rate is $4.30 per $100 valuation - higher than Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Richmond, Chesapeake and Accomack County.
Which, of course, is a problem for small businesses struggling to survive in a rural place where the population is dwindling.
``Ride through any town (in Northampton County),'' said David Griffith, president of the taxpayers' association. ``There are more empty businesses than open ones. It may be unfair to say that taxes drove them out of business, but there's certainly no relief to keep them in business.''
County officials have tried for three years to get the General Assembly to pass a bill that would allow Northampton to lower taxes on business personal property. But the bill has never gotten out of the finance committee.
Should Northampton preserve farmland and stay rural, even if it means shifting more of the tax burden onto businesses and home owners?
Many people in Northampton's large African-American community aren't frightened by the specter of farmland disappearing into development. For generations, black farm workers here have earned skimpy wages with few or no benefits.
Too often, hard-working people barely scraped by, then crashed into total poverty when they were too old to tend the fields or grade potatoes. For the poor, development means jobs. They see land-use taxation as just another break for the wealthy.
``We feel that in order for everybody to share the tax burden, they need to condense the package for everybody,'' said Rev. William Rucker, former local NAACP president and pastor of the Union Baptist Church in Eastville.
Everybody wants lower taxes. But Northampton's revenue needs in upcoming years probably will increase to pay for jail, landfill, and other necessary improvements. What can be done to check the upward spiral?
``We need more involvement on the part of the citizens,'' said David Griffith with the taxpayers' association. People feel they can't change the system, he said, and that the board will do what it wants anyway.
The population is dropping, but the county budget has doubled since 1985, said Griffith. Northampton's annual budget, including revenue from state and federal sources, is about $20 million.
``What are we getting for those tax dollars?'' he asked.
Members of the taxpayers association say citizens should insist on highly visible audits by an independent firm to see how those hard-earned tax dollars are being managed and spent.
Freeze hiring, says the taxpayers association. Look at ways to cut costs. And institute a meals tax, says Griffith.
``It's the only thing that has grown in the last 10 years,'' said Griffith of Northampton's restaurant and fast-food industry. ``And it ' s still going up.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff graphic by John Corbitt
What's Happening With Northampton's Tax Base?
For copy of graphic, see microfilm
by CNB