It's important to try and get the city's tax real estate tax rate both lower and closer to the county's. The County's population growth and the city's lack of growth are taking us closer to that goal. Their population is going up so they've got to raise taxes. We've got fewer people so we should be able to reduce our costs and cut taxes. As the county's population grows they've got to build more schools, hire more police officers, provide more infrastructure and generally expand their government and its spending. At the same time our population, here in the city, is actually dropping. Unlike the county our school population is declining. We don't face the huge school infrastructure costs the county faces, or the need to spend a lot on government infrastructure. The county's problem; population growth, is our bonanza. All those folks living in the new subdivisions are just aching to come into town and take advantage of the shopping offered in town and enjoy the fine restaurants on the Downtown Mall. The evidence that we are enjoying the advantages of county growth is clear. For years now there has been a surplus in the city's budget. Millions of dollars are being collected that aren't getting returned to the taxpayers. So I have to tell you that I am confused by what I am hearing from some members of this Council. Incumbent candidate Maurice Cox has said he wants to cut the rate but he wants to fund the cut by reducing pay raises to city staff and delaying capital improvements. Cutting city employees raises doesn't cut it with me. A four percent raise is reasonable and justified. Reduce it to three percent and I'm certain that in todays labor market good people would leave. Planning to allow the deterioration of city infrastructure seems, well, downright dumb. If there is critical
maintenance than do it ASAP. Delaying will only raise the long-term costs. Our city manager tells us that we are facing $80 million in capital improvements. I don't doubt that we are facing some big capital improvement costs, but could we please have a clear accounting of the whole thing in the news media of what it is that adds up to $80 million?

There is something else that worries me. There is a very good possibility that VDOT and the Commonwealth Transportation Board will demand re-reimbursement if the city rejects the Meadowcreek Parkway. Right now that figure would be around 1.6 million. It may be spread out over time but it will still be real money that would have otherwise have been available to the city. When Williamsburg rejected a VDOT project the state recovered the reimbursement by increasing the percentage of local funding of other projects from 2% to 45%. Right now VDOT needs money and I would be very surprised if they let us off the hook. It seems downright bizarre to me that councilors who are opposed to the road and aware that we may have to face a multi-million dollar reimbursement would also support a tax reduction. I guess since they plan on funding the tax reduction on the backs of city employees and needed infrastructure costs they would just as soon see the surplus go to VDOT.

If you are serious about reducing real estate taxes then you should do something about wasteful spending. Even from my perspective outside of government I can see some blatant examples of waste that shouldn't be allowed. Examples? The Hoo bus at $12,500. It's supposed to carry people from Uva downtown to spend money and it is a complete failure.The new "countdown" signals at $4000.00 at 14th and University. They haven't made any difference in the safety of that intersection for pedestrians or vehicles. The Paramount Theatre at $250,000.00. For that project to succeed they'll have to sell 100,000 tickets a year. Fat chance. If that project had any real chance of financial success the folks behind it wouldn't have to come to the taxpayers. Investors would be standing in line, anxious to make some money. There are other examples. Subsidizing the Piedmont Housing Alliance makes me very uneasy. Some of their clients have incomes in excess of 45K a year! Why am I paying taxes on a house I am paying for so that you can help people with incomes greater than mine to buy houses?

Because of the potential cost of reimbursement to VDOT and the lack of willingness on your part to ferret out and eliminate waste I cannot support a tax rate reduction at this time. I sure hope that I get elected though, because I will not sit idly by and watch money get wasted and I will work to see that we don't have to pay for not building a needed part of our road network, the Meadowcreek Parkway.

Kevin Cox (electronic mail, April 4, 2000).