During last night’s public hearing on Albemarle County’s proposed budget and tax rate, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a real estate tax rate of $1.04 per $100 of assessed value—an increase of roughly 30 cents. The increase follows a recent 4-2 board vote to advertise a 74.2 cent tax rate. Immediately following the vote, Board Chairman Ann Mallek cued up some music, Dennis Rooker high-fived Rodney Thomas, and the supervisors all left Lane Auditorium together to buy YMCA memberships and Lady Gaga tickets.
So, as you’ve gathered by now, C-VILLE doesn’t have much of a poker face. In fact, $1.04 was our little way of drawing attention to the 4/01 date—happy April Fools’ Day, everyone. (And, no, none of the above happened. Not even the Gaga tickets.) Below the photo, a real recap of last night’s meeting.
Art Stow (right), principal of Red Hill Elementary, addressed the Board of Supervisors alongside other county elementary school principals
All kidding aside, not a person at last night’s public hearing took the 74.2-cent tax rate as a laughing matter. The audience seemed evenly split between those pleased to have a tax break, and those who lamented the lack of an increase—and what some perceived as the board’s decision to ignore a large public outcry for a higher rate.
There were some words of thanks. John Frazee, co-president of IMPACT, commended the county for funding the Bright Stars program, and Jefferson-Madison Regional Library Board President Tony Townsend offered his appreciation for level-funding at local libraries. Most others, however, either praised the supervisors in the name of tax breaks or cursed them in the name of school funding.
Art Stow, principal of Red Hill Elementary, spoke in favor of preserving (rather than sharing) two principal jobs at county elementary schools, with the principals of Scottsville, Yancey and Murray elementaries beside him. Both Peter Loach of the Piedmont Housing Alliance and Valerie L’Herrou of the Albemarle County Housing Authority expressed concern that a decline in county support of affordable housing might be a disincentive to developers to contribute to proffers.
"By not funding affordable housing initiatives, we’re letting down developers who, in good faith, submitted proffers to the county," said L’Herrou.
Unlike the first public budget hearing, however, these comments were matched almost blow-for-blow by local residents who thanked the board.
"A recession is not the time to raise taxes. It is the time to examine spending and reassess needs," said Peter Wurzer, director of research for the Albemarle Truth in Taxation Alliance. The speaker who followed Wurzer said that she "worked very hard for, and am most pleased to see, Mr. [Rodney] Thomas sitting there." She added: "Higher taxes hurt us all. Kudos for a good job."
