Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 4 · column 1 of 3 · from the scan, no model involved
Editorials
.f; •'••• ;v \ w; . K-, ■% ^__L . -————*««—«——
Necessary evil
The county's Board of Supervisors indicated at its meeting Monday that it will probably vote to increase real estate property taxes by two cents — from 75 cents to 77 cents per hundred dollars of assessed valuation.
Though no one wants to see their taxes rise, we think that the supervisors are being prudent by approving the increase rather than leaving the rate at its present level.
Last year, after the county was hit with unexpected expenses for the development of the landfill and several other unforeseen bills, the supervisors were forced to approve an effective 48 percent property tax increase. It was necessary to meet the budget and rebuild the surplus built into the general fund to cover emergency expenses.
No one wants to see that type of increase again.
But the county is going to be faced with increasing expenses to meet programs already underway as the state and federal governments continue to cut their contributions to local governments.
Given the strict limits on the taxation powers of localities in Virginia, the only way for the county to stay ahead of these increasing demands for revenue is to raise property tax rates. But a gradual rise over a period of years is certainly preferable to holding the rate artifically low until forced, by overwhelming pressure, to enact a large increase in one year.
As we said before, raising taxes is never a popular move for public officials, and won’t win much praise from the public. But we commend the Board of Supervisors for taking the politically difficult — but fiscally responsible —route in addressing the county’s continuing budget burden.
90.1%