Botetourt County changes and related budget woes
Botetourt County’s population has grown only a little over 2 to 3 percent in the last decade and a half, but the county has been undergoing constant change. Overall student enrollment has steadily declined, even as some schools have become crowded; others barely have enough students to remain viable. State financial support for local schools is tied to enrollment, so state funding is declining on a relative basis. Yet the need for teachers and administrators in inefficiently sized schools and classrooms has not declined accordingly. Wage demands for scarce qualified teachers have continued to climb, and the numbers of required instructional assistants has also grown.
During that same decade and a half, the county’s population has steadily aged and its average number of occupants per household has declined. Whether related to population aging or other cultural and economic changes, volunteerism has also steadily declined. The lower availability of volunteers, the increased number of emergency response calls with an aging population, and the need for more sophisticated medical emergency response capabilities have led to the need to more than double the number of professional paid fire and rescue personnel as well as a dramatic rise in the costs to provide emergency services.
The need for law enforcement personnel, including more deputies in schools for security and for patrolling, has also steadily increased, though not as dramatically as has been experienced with fire and medical emergency responders. All area localities are having similar experiences, so the competition for qualified personnel has driven up wages to attract qualified candidates to fill these needed positions.
All of these budgetary pressures were on full display Wednesday night, June 12, when the Board of Supervisors held its annual budget and tax rate public hearings. The process this year was complicated with additional public hearings related to the impact of a general reassessment on real estate property values used to assess property tax levies to pay for county expenditures related to schools, law enforcement, the jail, emergency response, courts, social services, solid waste disposal and other services. The big question before the Board of Supervisors was how much to lower real estate tax rates to offset the impact of significantly higher property values while still increasing the taxes collected to a level which would pay for county services impacted by the changing realities noted above, plus higher interest rates and inflation.
The supervisors proposed lowering the real estate tax rate from 79 cents per $100 of assessed real estate values to 73 cents per $100. Most of the attendees at the public hearing held in the auditorium at Lord Botetourt High School favored 60 cents per $100, stating that the 60 cents rate would result in a net zero increase in taxes from the impact of the reassessment of property value. The 13 cents tax rate difference would result in a budgeted revenue decline for the county of approximately $7 million.
The position of the vast majority of the public speakers/protestors was that the supervisors should adopt a budget that did not increase revenue, while still providing for increased pay for teachers, law enforcement and emergency responders. None explained the drastic reality and measures it would take to actually reach the 60 cents per $100 rate, such as consolidating/closing schools, cutting the number of deputies on patrol, reducing the numbers of Fire and EMS staff, and increasing the response time for critical emergencies.
In addition, many speakers declared the supervisors unqualified to develop a responsible and fiscally prudent budget – an interesting claim given that the members of the board include a retired engineer and engineering company CEO, a doctor, a college administrator, a former building official, farmer and businessman, and a retired railroad financial manager. In addition, the board collectively has well in excess of 20 years of county board experience.
The vitriol and disrespect shown to the elected members of the Board of Supervisors by the majority of speakers has gotten to be nearly commonplace in the new world of political activism empowered by social media and one-upmanship among the perpetually angered. Social commentators and some psychologists have for several years warned that such disrespectful and strident behavior by otherwise normally rational people could lead to endangering those in elected or appointed positions of authority.
It appears that just that outcome has now occurred in Botetourt County. The night immediately following the unruly public hearing, crude slurs against the board were painted on a well-traveled Botetourt County road. Most disturbing to those who saw the “graffiti” before it was covered was the statement “[Expletive] 9 mil to murder all.” A 9 mil, of course, refers to a nine-millimeter bullet commonly used in the majority of handguns carried as concealed weapons and by many law enforcement and military personnel. The “threat” is unambiguous.
John B. Williamson III
Buchanan
‘Fill the Porch’ is successful
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the Buchanan Presbyterian Church event, “Fill the Porch to Feed My Sheep.” You donated 675+ pounds of food and $1,800 toward purchasing more. We also give thanks to the Troutville Food Pantry that contributed milk, eggs and bread. They had fewer families than usual so brought us what would have expired before their next event.
The next Buchanan Food Pantry date is June 22 from 9 till 11 a.m. Your hosts will be folks from the Buchanan Presbyterian Church. The church is at 19559 Main Street, Buchanan, and all who are in need of food are welcome.
Patricia Kidd
Buchanan Food Pantry
