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Richmond, VA 23286-0572

Isle of Wight to lose large source of tax revenue

This is the last year that Isle of Wight will collect machinery and tool taxes from International Paper. The manufacturer paid $5.7 million and $5.1 million in machinery and tool taxes in 2009 and 2010, respectively.

The loss of such a significant source of revenue will likely impact homeowners, who may be asked to make up for the lost funds through tax increases and/or reduced services.

Localities struggle to replace funding withdrawn by Richmond

Virginia's budget -- pared down to 2007 levels -- stripped counties, cities, and towns across the commonwealth of funds that would have gone to schools, community services, and road construction projects. In order to balance their budgets without the anticipated money, most localities had to cut services, raise taxes, or both.

State budget issues can have a profound impact on homeowners, especially when those issues affect local community budgets.

Chesterfield County residents feeling the pinch

Residents in Chesterfield County are feeling the impact of budget cuts that took effect on July 1. Library hours have been cut back, fees for curbside recycling have been introduced, and convenience center hours have been slashed.

Beginning this week, all library branches except Central Library will be closed Thursdays. There are also 35 fewer library employees to serve the public. The cuts in staff and hours are needed to offset a 17% reduction in the library budget -- the deepest felt by any county department.

Also effective Thursday, a $25 annual fee will be charged to each household to for county's biweekly curbside recycling program. The fee will be added to real estate tax bills.

Read more in the Richmond Times-Dispatch....

Posted on Thursday, July 1, 2010 - 8:18pm

Arlington collects and spends more per capita than other Virginia counties

According to Virginia's auditor of public accounts, Arlington County last year collected and spent more money per resident than any other county in the state. Arlington collected $4,240 in local revenues per resident last year, and spent $4,209 per resident.

Where does the money go? Arlington spent more cash per resident than any other county on fire and rescue services, health services, parks, and cultural services. The county came in second in police and library expenditures.

"We've made choices to provide levels of social services that are different from many other jurisdictions because that is what our community has said they wanted," said Mark Schwartz, Arlington's director of management and finance.

Localities with lots of amenities and robust public service offerings are attractive to new residents, and help keep demand for housing steady. Steady demand can lead to higher property values in the long term.

Read more in The Washington Examiner....

Posted on Tuesday, June 29, 2010 - 11:00pm

Goochland County relies on cuts to balance its budget

Goochland County officials avoided tax increases by slashing expenses to balance the county budget. The county's general fund will be 8.6% smaller than last year's.

Some of the cuts include library hours, recreation programs, and curbside recycling The school system saw its budget reduced 13.7%.

Read more from The Richmond Times-Dispatch....

Posted on Tuesday, June 22, 2010 - 7:24pm

Webb proposes ammendment to help owners of homes with tainted drywall

Sen. Jim Webb this week introduced an amendment to the Senate Tax Extenders bill (HR 4213) that would require the IRS to offer guidance to Chinese drywall victims filing for a casualty loss deduction on their homes and possessions. Homeowners are confused about how to file for the deduction, and the IRS has so far failed to offer clarification.

“This provision would compel the IRS to respond to the tax concerns of thousands of American families whose homes have been contaminated with Chinese drywall,” Webb said in a news release. “I have heard directly from my constituents about the emotional, physical, and financial hardship they continue to face as they struggle to maintain payments on houses that have been rendered uninhabitable, while also paying for a place to live and often dealing with corresponding health issues. This amendment is not the final solution, but it is an important step forward.”

Posted on Thursday, June 17, 2010 - 8:34pm

Towns in Rockingham County finalize budgets

The town boards of Madison, Mayodan, and Stoneville are preparing to hold public hearings on their proposed budget plans.

The proposed spending plans for Madison and Mayodan do not include tax increases for real property, and both towns are holding off on pay raises for employees. Madison residents will notice increased fees for garbage collection, water, and sewer service.

Stoneville officials are still working on a budget, and have not presented a spending proposal.

Posted on Wednesday, June 9, 2010 - 2:46pm

Bedford City budget approved

Bedford City officials approved a budget for FY 2011 that keeps real estate taxes at current levels. However, homeowners can expect to pay more because property assessments have risen about 4.5% over last year.

Posted on Wednesday, June 9, 2010 - 1:40pm

Proposed Halifax County budget includes no new taxes

The Halifax County Board of Supervisors is expected to approve an $89,971,290 budget proposal that includes no new taxes. However, the spending plan pulls $850,000 from the county's $7 million reserve fund in order to balance the books.

Officials say the extra money is needed to offset cuts in state funding to various constitutional offices. Funding to the county school system stayed the same, with the schools absorbing cuts to their own state funding.

Local spending plans are of keen interest to homeowners, as officials determine tax rates and progam availability during the budget planning process.

Proposed Alleghany County budget doesn't raise taxes

Alleghany County supervisors are proposing a $73.6 million budget that doesn't raise taxes, but which will increase fees for water and sewer service.

The county avoided budget cuts and was able to maintain funding to schools, county departments, and non-governmental agencies. Increased local tax revenues and a fund balance of about $18 million made it possible. "It helps to know you've got that kind of cushion," Susan Myers, the county's financial systems analyst, said of the $18 million fund balance that took about 30 years to build.

"Still, if we hadn't projected an increase in taxes, mostly due to increased assessments, it would have been a much harder budget year and some much harder decisions would have had to be made."

Real estate taxes will remain at 66 cents per $100 of assessed value.