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issues to propane cannons and cell phone coverage. But three issues — taxes, development and affordable housing — stood above the rest and entered into many of the candidates’ answers.
On the issue of rising tax rates in the county, Estes-Baader said the board should look at changing the way taxes are assessed.
Rifaat said too much of the county’s tax burden is on real estate taxes and the county needs to find other sources of revenue.
“I don’t believe we have pushed tourism enough,” she said. “We can’t continue to fund our government on the back of the taxpayer.”
Rifaat added that many county residents are on fixed incomes and high taxes are “devastating” to them.
“More than anything, we need to look at how to be efficient,” Wayland said. As an example, Wayland said hundreds of thousands of dollars could be saved if the county high school improved its energy efficiency as indicated by a study done by students and shared with board members.
On the issue of taxes, Rifaat tied in the importance of preserving the count/s volunteer fire and rescue system, warning that the county’s taxes would be changed considerably if Rappahannock
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