Further, because state law requires that the rate be lowered to produce an equal amount of tax revenues (plus 1%), there was no “rate cut” either.To suggest there was a rate cut is to ignore state law.Had this additional “pizza and beer” increase gone through, that property owner would have received a $512 per year increase!… Unlikely-we’d see the same hand-wringing about the budget.Back to “pizza and a beer.”One man’s pizza and beer is another family’s six (or more) doctor visit co-pays.Or another person’s two dental check ups, because some folks don’t have dental insurance…. $15 per month may not be much, but to some it pinches.Demeaning the tax increase by suggesting it’s merely a”pizza and beer” per month is like TV commercials that hawk elder life insurance policies by suggesting that it only costs 50 cents a day!… We need to focus first on how we are spending current revenue before considering any increase in taxes, “pizza and beer” increases included.”I’d like to link to a Daily Progress article from the last time assessments were done in Albemarle County, but apparently they’ve never written about David Slutzky (but they’re working on it).
Browsing Category Politics
The Free Enterprise Forum has a blog
Local think tank/business advocacy group has a new blog.
The Single-agent Dual Agency debate is revitalized at VARBuzz
I know some members of the Virginia Real Estate Board have opinions; why don’t they share them now?A sampling:As a listing agent, how can I promise to do the best job possible for the seller, who hired me to protect his interest and sell his home for the best price and terms, then turn around under dual agency where I cannot give him any advice that would harm the buyer?… As the seller’s agent, if I think that the buyer is in love with the house and would come up $20,000 to avoid losing it, I am in a much stronger position to negotiate. As a dual agent, my hands are tied and I become a mediocre agent for both parties and truly feel I have been stripped of all my skills and have to keep tape over my mouth. I have to walk a fine line that serves no one except filling the agent and brokers pockets….Sellers see right through greed and self serving agents.
That’s right – raise taxes
Albemarle County’s BoS decided to advertise the new mil rate of .71 cents per $100 of assessed property value. Two years ago it was .74, last year it was .68 and now they want to raise it again. We’re all doing with less money, and government should do the same. If “earning” more money was as easy as voting raises for ourselves, we would all do that, wouldn’t we?
Sunlight, water, growth and credible appraisals
basically everyone.Growth and Development update with Brian Wheeler – learn more about Bundoran Farm, the Water Supply (and increasing rates), Meadowcreek Parkway and how our infrastructure is catching up with us.Can Poor Writing Skills Overshadow Good Content?… The consequences – intended and unintended of this development – may be enormous.Virginia’s attempt to (temporarily) forestall foreclosures (for some)The HooK has an extensive story on the Charlottesville/Albemarle water supply solution…. Dredging it, however, will cost millions, mostly for trucking away the dirt.Meanwhile, just a couple of miles away lies the Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport, which wants to expand its runway and plans to spend $15 million of its $50 million budget to…… And dredging supporters allege the company that told the local waterworks to dam its way out of disaster might have a conflict of interest.Our region has a deserved reputation for studying everything ad nauseum, and I’m tempted to just be grateful that something is going to be done.Videos of the General Assembly are up at Richmond Sunlight.
Too short-sighted for our own good?
I’m not taking a position on this argument at Treehugger but have a question:A lot of the infrastructure in this country needs to be re-built,” says Gardner, University of New Hampshire associate professor of civil engineering and director of the Environmental Research Group. “We have a real opportunity to re-build the infrastructure the right way with sustainable materials and socially sensitive designs that protect air, water, land, and human resources.”My question is – do we have the capacity, the intestinal fortitude and political will to do whatever has to be done?… Is our infrastructure, as we know it, adequate for the next 100 years? This absolutely is a real estate query – quality infrastructure and “getting places” contributes greatly to quality of life – and therefore real estate values.
Bus Rapid Transit in CharlAlbemarle?
How cool (and expensive!)Â would that be?Read more at:Bacon’s RebellionCVillainDaily ProgressCharlottesville Tomorrow (the most comprehensive)My thoughts from earlier this monthFor a County that’s considering charging students to ride the bus to school, I’m wondering how much it would cost to ride the BRT.