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Below are responses from candidate Dave Norris: l. What steps would you take to lessen the dependence on private autos and encourage the use of public transportation? I have endorsed the creation of a regional transit authority to help
make our public transportation system more user-friendly, efficient and
effective by combining the efforts of CTS, UTS, JAUNT, etc. Through this
regional body, the various transit operators could eliminate duplication
of efforts and seek joint funding to expand the quantity and quality of
transit options in our area. In addition to this proposal, I have also endorsed: 2. Many city taxes are regressive, e.g., utility, real estate, meals, etc. Is there a more progressive tax that you would support? If the state of Virginia would allow it, I would support the initiation of a progressive property tax in Charlottesville. The state is unlikely to ever approve of such an idea, however. In place of a progressive property tax, I support implementation and expansion of a tax rebate program that offers tax relief to those low- and moderate-income homeowners who are hardest hit by rising property assessments. In addition, I have called for the City to examine its property assessment process, as the data indicates that higher-priced homes in the City are assessed at a noticeably lower rate-to-value than lower-priced homes. In other words, a $400,000 home may only be assessed for tax purposes at $350,000, while a $100,000 home may be assessed for tax purposes at $95,000. So, the lower-income homeowner is paying a higher rate of taxation than the higher-income homeowner. Tax equity is essential. 3. What specific proposals do you have to help provide affordable housing in Charlottesville? I believe that the shortage of affordable housing is the most pressing issue facing our community today. It's safe to say that we have a housing crisis on our hands: thousands of local families are on waiting lists for Section 8 rental assistance or public housing, young families can't afford to buy homes here thanks to skyrocketing housing costs, long-established neighborhoods are facing the threat of gentrification, homeowners are bearing the burden of annual double-digit increases in property assessments and property taxes, and area businesses are forgoing local expansion plans because it's hard to attract and retain good workers when the cost of living is so high. As a result of these housing pressures, we have many working families who are doubling up in overcrowded homes, spending more than 50% of their income on housing (& thus sacrificing other basic needs), going homeless, or moving 20, 30, or 40 miles away to find housing they can afford (& thus encouraging greater suburban sprawl). In other words, we are quickly becoming one of those boutique communities where the people who do the hard work of making this city function can't afford to live anywhere near here. Both the City and County have taken some positive steps recently to address this problem, but I believe we can do better by our people. While it's true that government's abilities and resources are limited and that housing costs are primarily a product of supply and demand within the marketplace, I strongly believe that if we make affordable housing a top public priority - in other words, if we rank it as high on the political agenda as it is on our constituents' agendas - then there's a lot more that we can accomplish in this regard. To that end, I've offered up the following proposals for addressing the shortage of affordable housing in our community: 1. Follow the lead of 350 other communities across the country and create a Charlottesville Affordable Housing Investment Fund, with a dedicated annual source of local revenue, to leverage additional dollars from state, federal & private sources and provide flexible financing for creation of new housing opportunities targeted to low-income and working-class residents. Each year, City Council typically does set aside some funds for housing development, but these funds are appropriated in an ad hoc and inconsistent manner and hardly scratch the surface of the need. With City revenues growing at a significant pace, we can afford to do more in this regard (without, I should add, raising taxes) - IF we decide to make affordable housing a priority. I am willing to make it a priority. 2. Adopt a more deliberate and proactive strategy of Inclusionary Zoning
- 3. Explore ways in which to Ease the Property Tax Burden on low- and moderate-income homeowners. I support the property tax rebate program currently under consideration by City Council and would vote to enact it if elected. We also need to examine the way that City homes are assessed and ensure that lower- and moderate-income homeowners are not being assessed at a higher rate-to-value than higher-income homeowners. Tax fairness is essential. 4. Engage with the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority in a constructive approach to Revitalizing Our Public Housing Neighborhoods, working in collaborative partnership with residents and for-profit & non-profit developers alike. This process has the potential to both improve the quality of life for public housing residents AND significantly expand affordable rental and homeownership opportunities for hard-working citizens. 5. Take proactive steps to Facilitate the Creation of Accessory Apartments and thus increase our affordable housing stock & enhance incomes of homeowners at the same time. 6. Strongly encourage the University of Virginia to Expand On-Grounds Housing for students and employees, and thus relieve some of the pressure that UVa's expansion has put on neighborhoods surrounding the University (and on our housing market as a whole). 7. Promote greater Regional Cooperation in Housing. Our housing market knows no jurisdictional lines, nor should our willingness to address this region-wide problem. 8. Last, but not least, work to enhance our residents' ability to rent or buy housing by strengthening our commitment to Increasing the Wages of Local Workers through improved job training programs, Living Wage advocacy, etc. 4. Would you support a city resolution to withdraw our troops from Iraq? Absolutely. I also am the only candidate in this race who supports Council's February 2003 decision to pass a resolution against the Iraq War in the first place. (Many thanks to CCPJ for leading that noble charge!) While Charlottesville City Council is not the U.S. Congress or the United Nations, I do believe there are certain times when it is incumbent on public bodies of good conscience to speak out against grievous wrongs. The Iraq War is one such wrong. Global climate change is another, and I am also the only candidate who has endorsed the idea of Charlottesville signing on to the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. 5. By all appearances, much of the job growth in the city is in the retail and restaurant service industry. These jobs don't provide a middle-class income. What steps would you propose to encourage good paying jobs in the city? We need to work with the Thomas Jefferson Partnership for Economic Development, the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce and other organizations to explore ways that our region can revive our dying manufacturing sector, which has hemorrhaged thousands of jobs in the last five years alone. Manufacturing jobs have historically provided the best avenues out of poverty for lower-income individuals and the loss of manufacturing jobs (first from the inner cities to the suburbs, then from the U.S. to the developing world) has been devastating for our country and for our community. I'd like to see us make a concerted effort to attract and grow clean industry/light industry-type jobs to our region so that there will be greater opportunities for local workers to climb the ladder into the middle class. Related to that issue is the need to educate and train our workers for the jobs of tomorrow. We call ourselves a "World Class" city, yet our local workforce development system pales in comparison to many others I've seen and studied around the country. Furthermore, we have 5,000 adults in our City alone who do not have a high school diploma. Many of them are functionally illiterate, which severely hampers their ability to secure decent-paying jobs (which is why so many of them get stuck in retail and service positions for their entire lives). Improving our adult education program will therefore be a priority of mine as well. Finally, it is impossible to talk about "good paying jobs" without calling attention to the fact that the University of Virginia, which is by far the largest employer in our region, continues to deny its lowest-paid workers at least a Living Wage. As a City Councilor I will use whatever leverage I can to pressure UVa to right this wrong. No one should have to work 40 hours a week and still raise her children in poverty. For more information about me and my candidacy, please visit my Web site at http://www.votefordave.org. Thank you! **************************************************************************** Below are responses from Julian Taliaferro 1. I am interested in expanding transit service to developments in the county, increasing the frequency of service, perhaps utilizing some smaller sized buses to reduce costs and pollution, creating a regional transit service, and combing the Charlottesville Transit Service with the University Bus System. 2. I would support looking at any proposals that would move from regressive to progressive taxes as I am cognizant of the large number of folks in the city that struggle to meet their basic needs for themselves and families. 3. I am committed to looking at other programs across the country that have been successful and I would support trying to place more funds into affordable housing inititatives. Hopefully we can do this with public-private partnerships. 4. I would not support a city resolution to withdraw our troops from Iraq as I think it is beyond the purview of City Council; however, I do not support the war as I think we were not provided accurate information prior to the invasion. 5. Your observation that we have too many service jobs being created is an accurate one. I am in support of increasing our Work Force Development Program in order to create good paying jobs. They are many opportunities that can be employed by working with CATEC and the schools system to capture those children who are not college bound, Those children need to be steered into occupations where they can make a decent living and also have the opportunities for upward mobility. I also believe we must do a better job of reducing the number of drop outs in our community and also increase the number of GED classes currently being offered. Julian H. Taliaferro, EFO/CFO **************************************************************************** Candidate Rob Schilling did not respond to the Questionnaire
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