Montgomery County Board of Supervisors set an advertised tax rate of .75 per $100 real estate valuation, representing a nearly 18% increase.
For property owners with real estate valued at approximately $230,000, this would represent an increase of about $300 a year, or about $25 a month.
Is having a bigger, larger courthouse with consolidated legal or enhanced police functions worth $25 a month to you?
What if you threw in the construction of two new elementary schools, one in the Blacksburg strand and another in the Shawsville/Elliston strand? And what if getting these much needed buildings cleared the way for new schools in the Auburn Strand?
Or moving on down a long "needs" list for capital improvements to the county's infrastructure?
Would all that be worth $25 a month?
The advertised tax rate cannot go higher, yet often the Board of Supervisors sets the actual tax rate below the one it advertises. So some type of compromise may be seen as a final outcome of budget discussions.
Another plan for a new courthouse building, facing East Main with an entrance at the "pocket-park" on land the county already owns, is being considered. This plan utilizes the existing courthouse, with possible renovations to the interior and exterior, as the Public Safety Building. This would consolidate non-court functions, communications, 911 services and the Sheriff's Office in one building.
The plan also provides for improvements to the 1950s jail, with an underground tunnel connecting it to the new courthouse for the secure transfer of prisoners. Also on land the county already owns, existing parking would be provided by building a multi-level garage. It is also possible, given the new courthouse would be larger than the present one, that the Blacksburg court functions could be consolidated. This would be fiscally prudent, especially since Montgomery is the only county in the Commonwealth of Virginia with court held in multiple locations, or other than the county seat.
The need for new schools -- Prices Fork Elementary and the now combined Elliston/Shawsville Elementary -- have been apparent for several years. The need for larger schools grow along with every rezoning or special use permit issued by the towns of Blacksburg and Christiansburg, where residential growth is concentrated and is the focus of their comprehensive plans.
And, yes, Virginia, there is residential growth in the county, too.
All this new construction can be had with a .12 cent increase to the real property tax rate.
Not many among us are enjoying good economic times, so it's a tough sell to be seeking increases in taxes now -- especially since the federal and state budgets are shifting costs back and reducing funding levels to localities, automatically increasing the costs for maintaining certain local services.
When would a good time be to do these projects? Kind of like elective surgery, in that it is never convenient.
How extensive should a "needs" list be, before elected officials take action -- quick action. Per Supervisor Creed, every day of delay equates to $100,000 in increased overall construction costs.
Several years ago, the supervisors took out bonds for renovations to the courthouse, built in 1976. Much has already been spent making modifications to the County Government Center, to hold court and prisoners during the remodeling. Would these expenses have been necessary if the present plan had been the initial concept? (Now, there's proof of evolution.)
How much of the $31MM court house price tag is attributable to inflation? Why begin the project during what may be a recession?
If individual households and businesses are sucking up increased costs and coping with flat revenues for the past several years, where is the evidence our government is tightening the public belt, "cutting coupons" to save a little, too?
The towns of Blackburg and Christiansburg will probably increase property taxes, also, added on top of the county's new rate. Or, if the towns don't raise that tax directly, expect a shift in the tax burden (as learned from federal and state counterparts) onto business taxes, who must then pass these increases on to The Consumer.
This type of shift is kind of like the car tax, another back door approach, yet still an overall increase to what is being taxed and how much revenue is being generated by local governments. The expectation that services remain the same without these increases -- or sometimes even with tax increases -- needs to be discarded.
This, when most businesses have seen profits shrink or evaporate, and consumers have seen little by way of pay increases. Just as other costs -- food, medical, housing, fuel or energy -- consume the potential to save for a rainy day (i.e., contingency or expansion plans, college or retirement plans).
Tough economic times, and tough financial decisions -- the solutions will weigh heavily on personal budgets and the quality of life as defined by public services offered within our community for a long time to come.