Want an epiphany? How about several. On the 12th day of Christmas, Tuesday, January 6th, numerous items which may have great consequence for town and county residents are on Town Council's agenda.
Public Hearings are legally required before certain actions are voted on by Town Council. These, just like Citizen Hearings, provide residents with both the opportunity to listen to the rational behind particular discussions which generally carry taxpayer obligations (because public debt isn't decided by referendum), and to offer their opinion on these topics. When information is first presented to the public during a Public Hearing, a reasonable person could expect subsequent Citizen Hearings to be scheduled -- giving council and members of the public time to digest any news or information, seek out more data, and form an opinion on the topic.
#1. After a presentation to council and others made to the Planning Commission relative to zoning and the need for a "parking structure" (not to be confused with a parking garage), the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors is seeking a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for property located at the intersection of First and Pepper Streets. This matter will come before the PC again on Jan. 5th at 4 pm. Their recommendation is expected to be voted on at council's Jan. 20th meeting. The question is not whether the county's proposed parking plan meets the town's requirements for parking, as much as if it provides a realistic amount of parking for court functions for the next two or three decades.
#2. The county has another request on council's agenda, relative to a Zoning Permit request for property located at 360 Reading Road. This is yet another purchase the supervisors are pursuing using "reserve" funds not included in the regular 2008-2009 budget nor found in their Capital Improvement Plan, and comes at a time when tax revenues are tanking along with state funding. The proposed use is in total opposition to the town's own Comprehensive Plan and follows news of supervisors (ie, taxpayers) having to pay some part of a $22.6 million overrun for the new regional jail.
#3. Then there's council consideration of "bids" for "leasing" the Aquatic Center. This is where administrators should be doing all the explaining, and council and citizens (ie, taxpayers) listening.
#4. Previous discussions on expanding the town's recycling program or possible curbside recycling is listed on the agenda as "consideration of mandatory trash pick-up." That is almost as loaded as asking "Do you still beat your wife?"
#5. Shifting to the regular agenda, the fiscal year 2007-2008 audit will be presented to council. State Code requires the books (which close as of June 30 of each calendar year) are reviewed and a report provided to the governing body by December 31. That didn't happen unless you count the paperwork being handed out during their last meeting without discussion. Given this council's response to the local chamber president not personally appearing to give a bi-annual tourism report, let's see how they react to this delay relative to their own accounting practices.
#6. Next on the agenda is council's expected action on a boundary line adjustment agreement with the county for property along Buffalo and Mud Pike Road to add about 15 acres to the town. A future 2009 meeting could include another such item which adds not additional burdens to public safety and schools, but gives some portion of possible tax revenues back to the county.
#7. At council's last meeting of 2008, Henry Showalter asked again about the aquatic center's business plan and when council would get a peek at it. The response was "March 1" but it is now included as an item on the Jan. 6 agenda.
Read all the links. Get the background and start thinking about how these issues can affect fees you pay for public services or county and town real property tax rates. Think of some questions you'd like answers to. Come to the Christiansburg Town Hall at 7:30 on Tuesday, January 6th. Listen to see if they are answered, or ask them yourself. No one is expecting all the answers at this meeting, but as we enter the state / county / town budget planning cycle for the 2009-2010 fiscal year, most citizens are eager to understand how services might be impacted by reduced revenues and increased expenses.