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And, they add, one of the strongest threads of the county’s heritage is its traditional agricultural base. If that base is threatened by taxation, which forces farmers to sell their land, the county will lose its identity, they say.
As the county’s officials debate the pros and cons of the issue, Jackson District Supervisor Ellis Bingham has called for a county-wide survey to identify those non-resident owners of acreage enrolled in the land use program.
The figures Rappahannock uses to appraise land for land use are supplied by SLEAC, the State Land Evaluation Advisory Council, in Blacksburg. This organization provides figures for the 78 jurisdictions which have chosen to adopt land use taxation. The figures are based on the productivity of the land, and Rappahannock’s figures are somewhat higher than those for surrounding counties.
Rappahannock departs from SLEAC figures for forest land and for the poorest agricultural land. Land in the poorest three categories is lumped together and assessed at $250 per acre instead of the lowest rate allowed, which could be as low as $50 per acre.
Rappahannock has also decided to treat orchard land the same as open agricultural land. The figures supplied by SLEAC for orchards are higher than those for regular agri
92.5%