Michael Strickland is having a gathering o’ local bloggers. Mudhouse, Saturday May 5. Folks have done this a couple of times before, and it’s plenty fun; you get to meet new people though, weirdly, you all already know each other. If you’re game, RSVP on his blog. #
Though budget discussion are ongoing, the Albemarle Board of Supervisors voted unanimously this afternoon to set a property tax rate of $0.68 per $100 of assessed value, the county announced in a press release. After county assessments climbed by 15%, county staff proposed a 5.6% spending increase. Supervisors initially had widely divergent views on what the tax rate should be, with a plurality supporting $0.68, and one member each supporting $0.71, $0.72, and $0.74. (Lowering it to $0.58 would have left the average tax bill unchanged.) The board took a stab at a $0.65 rate, but that didn’t pass.
04/12 Update: Jeremy Borden has an engaging look at how $0.68 was arrived at in today’s Progress. Supervisor Dennis Rooker points out that rate is the minimum required, just enough to fund schools at last year’s levels and provide raises to keep teacher salaries competitive.
White Hall representative on the BoS David Wyant is running for a second term, he’s announced to nobody’s surprise. He’s being challenged by Democrat Ann Mallek. #
Michael Prichard writes about his wife who ran door to door at Chatham Ridge yesterday to evacuate homeowners as a fire spread between their houses. #
By a 4-1 vote this evening, City Council passed the 2007-8 budget, Henry Graff reports for NBC-29. It came in at a record $122M, requiring a property tax rate of $0.95 per $100 of assessed value. Given assessment increases, that amounts to an average tax increase of 14%. City staff had proposed a $136.5M budget. Councilor Kevin Lynch was the lone dissenter, saying that he simply couldn’t support a $0.95 tax rate.
For more, see the City Budget Office webpage or the city’s press release.
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