Supervisors blasted on reassessment, taxes

Outrageous, shocking, a boondoggle, and a bunch of junk accounted for some of the descriptive phrases angry New Kent residents applied to the county’s recent real estate reassessment that hiked land values in the county an average of 40 percent.

And the more than two dozen residents who spoke during last Wednesday’s public hearings before the Board of Supervisors on the county’s proposed 2008-09 budget had lots more to say, not only on property values but also the teacher salary situation in county schools.

The Colonies, meanwhile, appear to be in revolt. No, it’s not 1776 all over again, but a group of residents from the Lanexa housing subdivision of the same name took supervisors to task over the reassessment and accompanying tax hike proposal.

For public hearing, the county advertised a 75-cent per $100 of assessed value real estate tax rate, which is 8 cents above the equalized rate of 67 cents formulated in the reassessment’s aftermath. County supervisors are leaning toward a 6-cent increase or a 73-cent rate, but residents who spoke said that is still too much.

“I feel our citizens are being taxed without representation,” Kim Claytor, a resident of The Colonies, told the board while displaying a coffee mug to draw parallels with the Boston Tea Party rebellion.

Claytor chastised county officials for ignoring voters’ wishes by forging ahead with building a new high school after two earlier school bond questions had been defeated.

“We need to start having board members be accountable to our citizens,” she said.

Several subdivision residents complained that “gross errors” exist in a substantial portion of the recent reassessments. They also took issue with how the firm hired by the county to perform the work, Tri-County Appraisals, went about the task.

“The county is getting hurt in a budget crunch, and what we’re looking at today is only the beginning of it. Next year will be worse,” Lanexa resident George Oden Jr. told supervisors.

District 5 Supervisor Ray Davis drew a smattering of applause from the crowd and praise from The Colonies residents for motioning for a vote before the hearings to throw out the reassessment results.

“I have real misgivings about the reassessment and don’t like the way it was done,” Davis told the crowd.

“[Tri-County Appraisals] put building site value on every parcel and then said [to property owners] show me it’s not a building site,” he said.

“I wish we had known that was the methodology used before [the reassessment] was finished,” Davis said, adding it was early April before board members were made aware.

Davis’ motion, however, garnered little support among fellow board members. A 4-1 vote turned down the measure after county officials said $500,000 had been spent on the appraisal process and reverting to previous land values could raise real estate taxes as much as 20 cents above the current year’s 93-cent rate.

“It’s not feasible to start over again,” District 4 representative Stran Trout said, adding residents can appeal reassessments through the county’s Board of Equalization and, if not satisfied with the outcome, file suit in circuit court as a last resort.

The reassessment process, however, is being revamped for when the county revisits land values two years from now, County Administrator John Budesky said. Future assessments will no longer fall to an outside agency but will be handled in-house by the county Commissioner of Revenue office, he said. Reassessments are to be conducted every two years, he added.

Other speakers last Wednesday urged supervisors to impose the 67-cent equalized rate, noting tough economic times as fuel and other costs are skyrocketing.

“The government needs to learn to live within its means as the average citizen is learning to live within their means,” Providence Forge resident Ron Yarbrough told the board.

Fifteen speakers voiced support for the county schools’ budget and substantial teacher pay raises. Speakers cited teachers leaving New Kent for better pay elsewhere, including teachers who depart in mid-term causing disruptions in student learning, as the basis for substantial raises.

Quinton resident Janet Ciaravino said teacher salaries were a major issue when her family moved to New Kent and remain so 18 years later.

“I have seen positive changes in New Kent schools, but change needs to continue at breakneck speed,” she told supervisors.

Speaking on the teacher pay situation, county resident Wanda Watkins said, “You get what you pay for and unfortunately we’re starting to pay the price for falling behind.”

But two elected county officials, treasurer Herb Jones and revenue commissioner Laura Ecimovic, told supervisors the county’s allotment of money for schools is more than generous.

“This is a fair, equitable, and responsible budget document, “ Jones said. “It’s a reflection of reality, the economy, and strained resources.”

“Pretty much everything was cut so we could give as much as possible to schools while still being fiscally responsible to citizens,” Ecimovic added.

During last week’s work session with school officials, supervisors agreed to increase new money for schools next year by $20,000, making the new figure $834,000 or 8.6 percent above the county’s contribution for the current year. Total county money proposed for schools is $10.5 million. Schools, meanwhile, had requested $10.9 million.

Budesky labeled the $834,000 figure as a compromise, noting another 2 cents would have to be added to the real estate tax rate to fund the overall school request. Four cents of the county’s proposed tax rate is earmarked for schools, he said. The proposed school budget totals $27 million, a figure $1.9 million above the current year’s $25.1 million budget.

Other county budget highlights include reducing the machinery and tools tax from $3 to $1.50, an across-the-board 8 percent hike in water/sewer rates and fees for those customers hooked up to county-owned systems, and a 2.5 percent cost of living increase plus 1 percent merit pay raise for county employees. The county’s personal property tax rate of $3.75 is unchanged.

Budesky said the advertised 75-cent real estate tax rate could be lowered to 73 cents provided $465,000 (equivalent to 2 cents on the tax rate) is cut from the county’s contingency fund.

After the recent reassessment, the average house value in New Kent increased to $272,500. At a 73-cent rate, taxes next year on that house would total $1,989.25.

The proposed budget totals just over $54.5 million, about $1.7 million lower than the current year’s $56.2 million budget. Supervisors are scheduled to take final action during their June 9 meeting.