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(Continued from Page 1) supervisors to investigate carefully before deciding that Rappahannock will be better off with land use. “As long as I can remember, Rappahannock County has had land use taxation. Different people have paid different amounts in taxes on generally the same land.” he said.

With the county’s new 100 per cent fair market value assessment. Johnson predicted that the tax rate will be somewhere around 20 cents per $100. “I can’t see how that’s going to hurt anyone!" If the supervisors adopt the planning commission's recommendation to allow land use for all four categories (agricultural, horticultural, forestal and open space), ‘‘how many acres and how many millions of dollars will it take out of the tax source?” Johnson asked. With land use, the tax rate could go up to $3 per $100, he predicted. “We’re talking about an average person with a house and lot paying a $2,000 tax bill instead of $200.” he said, adding that smaller farmers would also end up paying higher taxes with bills of $2,000 to $3,000 rather than $200.

Houses Cost

‘‘For a long time, the county and the state of Virginia has seen the need to preserve agricultural land and open space,” said Newbill Miller, Rappahannock farmer and real estate agent who serves on the planning commission, school board and as mayor of Washington. He noted that Warren, Fauquier. Madison and Page have all adopted land use and have had less than 15 per cent of the property in each county qualify for preferential tax treatment.

‘‘The cost of running county government is not in land. It’s in houses. If the house is the cause of the expense, it should bear its proportionate share,” Miller maintained. The majority of Rappahannock's residents want to protect the beauty of the county and its interrelated agricultural industry, according to the planning commissioner. “So we must have a policy of local