Reader questions assessment increase
To the Botetourt county tax assessment official, I request a review and re-determination of our 2024 real property tax assessment.
The 2024 assessment is a 44.12% increase (literally gave me a massive heart attack) in the value of my house in an economically modest neighborhood.
To supplement my fixed income and to give back to the community, I work as a part-time county substitute teacher – an exhausting, difficult and challenging position, to say the least.
I am providing brief reasons (not-all-inclusive) stated below for reassessment:
1) I have not gotten a 44.12% raise this year or any other year in any professional career that I’ve ever held in my life.
2) There has been no improvement made to our house since 1999. I have not been able to afford to replace the badly needed, nearly 30-year-old roofing. I find torn-up shingles on the ground on a daily basis.
3) My 35-year-old HVAC system has been determined to “die at any minute,” but I have not been able to afford to replace it.
4) To save energy bills, my house is permanently very cold in winter at 60 degrees Fahrenheit, very hot in summer at 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
5) I have had many challenges regarding our septic system and am still making payments on a monthly basis.
5) I have not been able to re-seal a badly needed driveway since it was done 30 years ago.
6) Even though my real/personal property taxes support the county public services, I have not used the taxpayer-funded public services. For example: (a) no kid/s in school; (b) our road is a private road, thus no county tax money is spent on asphalt sealing/re-sealing the road; (c) I actively take care of my health, thus no need to tie up EMS, police, fire department or courts, etc.
Based on the above-stated brief reasons, I request the assessment be either no increase or decreased by 40%, resulting in a 4.12% increase at the maximum.
Anna Yu
Cloverdale
Supports Boothe for Republican Committee chairman
I am writing this letter to encourage my fellow Botetourt County Republicans to vote for CJ Boothe to serve as the chairman of the Botetourt County Republican Committee. CJ is a long-time Botetourt resident, with a proven record of public service and volunteerism in our community. He has previously served the Committee as the Amsterdam Magisterial chair and has a broad range of experience that he brings to the position. We have a lot of work to do to continue to elect strong leaders to our local, state and federal level positions, and CJ has the energy, the enthusiasm, the work ethic and the integrity to continue our success.
John Alderson
Fincastle
