Do we raise the tax-rates to continue the spending?...

Bob Stuart over at the NewsVirginian has a follow-up on last nights Augusta Supervisors meeting where there were numerous comments regarding the budget shortfall and possible tax increases facing the citizens of Augusta County… It appears the majority of the people commenting were against increasing several county taxes that are being looked at, and a small group of organized “special interest” people calling for tax increases to support education programs “and the children”…

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It appears there is once again a small group out their organizing select special interest packs who are only looking at narrow specific aspects of the issue at hand while ignoring the total picture and how it affects ALL of the citizens of Augusta County. Fortunately, as in the past, the facts will come out and many will then look at the total picture instead of what they are “being fed”….

Augusta Supervisors hear diverse comment on tax rate

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By: Bob Stuart News Virginian
Published: April 19, 2012 Updated: April 19, 2012 - 7:30 AM
VERONA, Va. --
Most Augusta County residents who spoke at a public hearing Wednesday night on the county’s tax rate for 2012-13 asked supervisors to look for ways to cut costs and avoid raising both real estate and personal property taxes.

A minority of speakers talked of the needs to pay essential county workers such as teachers, firefighters and Sheriff’s deputies, and said they would support a tax increase.

At the end of the nearly two-hour public hearing, supervisors seemed split on whether to raise real estate taxes 3 cents to the advertised 51 cents per $100, and personal property taxes on cars and trucks 32 cents to $2.57 per $100.

A final decision is likely when the board votes on the tax rate and county budget on May 2.
Augusta County Republican Party Chairman Bill Shirley asked the board members to step away from the immediate budget and look at the long-term debt picture. He said the county’s current debt wouldn’t be paid off until 2032.

He proposed attacking the debt and providing public safety and not raising taxes.
“It’s a great opportunity to take a stand,’’ said Shirley, who said the county could do what the state and federal government have failed to do – cut spending.

Fishersville resident Bruce Richmond, director of the Shenandoah Valley Tea Party Patriots, said he and other residents in that area have already paid additional homeowners insurance funds because of the ISO rating problem the Preston L. Yancey Fire Company had until a recent improvement.

“Go with a balanced budget, cut what you can,’’ Richmond said. “Go through it (the budget) line by line.”

He said school costs could be more frugal by utilizing empty classrooms, but advised not cutting public safety.

Fishersville resident Curt Lilly said while there are plenty of worthy causes it is time to take a stand “and say no to everyone asking for money. There are lots of good ideas but you still need to say no.”

Augusta County resident and Shenandoah Valley Governor’s School teacher Leonard Klein said he could afford to pay a little more in taxes so that his students could receive the benefits.

Starke Smith said staff and funding for county schools have been cut in recent years, and said it was important to fund teachers, firemen and police. “Three cents is the very minimum. I would have voted for 5 cents,’’ Smith said.

Some Supervisors are waiting to see what the state budget that was passed on Wednesday means to Augusta County before making a decision on a tax increase.

Others have decided. Middle River Supervisor Larry Wills said the county has already looked at cuts in its budget, and won’t replace Assistant County Administrator John McGehee when he retires in a few months.

“I don’t like a tax increase but I don’t like shortchanging essential services,’’ said Wills, who supports the increase.

Board Chairman Tracy Pyles said he could not support raising taxes until all options have been explored, and that includes using county capital money to meet needs in next year’s budget.

North River Supervisor Marshall Pattie read a lengthy statement.
Pattie spoke of how he had met residents in his district on the economic edge who are struggling to keep going.

“I talked to one family who stopped driving their truck because the cost of gas is too high to run it,’’ he said.

He supports using county capital reserves to pay the added costs in next year’s budget, and not raising taxes.
“We have a surplus of taxpayer money. Let’s use taxpayer money that has already been provided to us to cover our short-term expenditures before we go back and ask for more money,’’ Pattie said.

Other supervisors said they were eager to see the county’s final state funding from the General Assembly.

“I will wait to see what the state did on funding,’’ said South River Supervisor David Beyeler.
Riverheads Supervisor Mike Shull said he did not want to raise taxes, and said he would wait to see the state funding.

Beverley Manor Supervisor David Karaffa said he was concerned about specific line items he thought still needed to be cut, including the $20,000 per year the county pays a General Assembly lobbyist to advocate for Augusta County.

“This is an unnecessary expenditure and I won’t vote for a budget with this in it,’’ he said.

But where will they work?....

The NewsLeader has coverage of the Augusta BOS approving by way of a split vote, the plans for a 775 unit housing development in the county at a time when there are efforts to find millions of dollars to fill the shortfall in education funds. This development, which is more than the 692 in the comprehensive plan, will only produce "dozens of jobs" and put further strain on the county budget if additional jobs are not brought to the area...

VERONA — Members of the Augusta County Board of Supervisors decided on a split vote Wednesday to grant a rezoning request for a 755-unit housing development planned off Barterbrook Road just outside Staunton's city limits.

One of the largest planned housing construction projects in recent times divided the board membership with a 4-3 vote. Opposing the plan were Chairman Tracy Pyles, who represents the Pastures District, North River Supervisor Marshall Pattie and Riverheads Supervisor Michael Shull.

Beverley Manor District Supervisor David Karaffa, who represents the area, supported the project, which he said would bring a $110 million investment to the county while creating dozens of jobs.

The area has been designated for growth in the county's comprehensive land use plan, but supervisors who voted in opposition noted that the number of residences to be included exceeds the 692 the comprehensive plan recommends for the area.

Some residents nearby voiced concerns during a public hearing for the rezoning request about traffic safety with the new cars the homes and apartments would bring and about construction noise and pollution to nearby Christians Creek.
One neighbor owner told supervisors Wednesday that she feared the apartment complex could lower property values.

Dubbed in planning records as "The Villages of Vista Ridge," the development plan calls for Boyd Homes to build as many as 400 apartments, 270 townhomes and duplexes and at least 85 homes. The community would be built in phases over 10 years, and the developer plans to make improvements to Barterbrook Road to deal with the added traffic.

Do we want this BOS controlling the Re-assessment process?....

It now looks like the new BOS wants to take control of the reassessment process and wants to take over the whole process and make it "in-house" and use county staff to do some of it...

Do we really want this done in-house and by a staff that is directly influenced by the BOS?...

Will it be that much easier for members of the BOS to manipulate the numbers that they do not like or agree with?...

Unlike before, what happens if you go to challenge the assessment of your property and you are then sitting across from the table of the person appointed by and influenced by the BOS?...

The Newsvirginian has some coverage of the first meeting bring this up last night....


"The supervisors' reassessment committee will confer with Rockingham County government on how its in-house assessment program has worked. At the same time, the board directed Finance Director Jennifer Whetzel to draft a request for proposals from vendors about performing a contracted reassessment."


"Wayne District Supervisor Jeff Moore said voters he talked to last fall were unhappy with the 2009 reassessment. He supports the idea of an in-house assessment, and believes the county would receive a more accurate measurement of residential property values."


"Middle River Supervisor Larry Wills said the in-house annual costs of $550,000 and the climate of the current economic situation would not allow him to support adding staff to the county payroll. He said he could not support an in-house reassessment when it could be done more cheaply by a contractor."


South River Supervisor David Beyeler said using in-house asessors will cost the county taxpayers twice the amount of a contracted reassessment.

"There is no free ride in this,'' Beyeler said. He estimated that the cost to taxpayers in-house would be one additional cent on the tax rate.


"Board of Supervisors Chairman Tracy Pyles said he thinks an in-house assessment would provide more long-term quality to the county, and he also said if the work was done in-house, some staff from the county's commissioner of the revenue office would likely be shifted to work on an in-house team."