The Daily Progress has an
article today about how the City of Charlottesville is projecting a $2 million
shortfall this year – even with the massive
reassessments!

“… the city is
relying on real estate taxes more every year, a practice that has drawn the ire
of many local property owners who have had their taxes rise by double-digit
percentages due to a hot housing
market.
…
If
the City Council leaves the real estate tax rate at $1.09 per $100 of assessed
value, property owners can expect their taxes to rise by an average of 12
percent.”
That the ire of only “many”
has been raised should be comforting to the City leaders. Most, if not all
should be contacting their city representatives (wouldn’t it be nice if we had a
Ward system? -PDF) and expressing their concerns
about the City’s fiscal
irresponsibility.

In a reassuring
turn, “(City Manager Gary O’Connell) also
has asked various city departments to submit budget requests trimmed by 5
percent, 10 percent and 15 percent in an attempt to cut
spending.”

We shall see if the
government has the wherewithal to be self-policing with the public’s
money.