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I am always interested in hearing from citizens about the issues that we face. Email me. |
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Photos: Mary Ann Johnson |
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Copyright 2010 Leslie Hager-Smith |
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Blacksburg Meals Tax
Diners in local Blacksburg restaurants currently pay 11% in taxes on meals: 6% in town meals tax, 5% in state sales tax. That compares favorably to the town meals tax in nearby Christiansburg, which recently went up to 7%, for a total of 12% on every restaurant tab. The vitality of the local food service industry is critical to the health of both communities. In Blacksburg, the meals tax is estimated to bring in over $3.5 million for FY 2010/2011. That’s 14.5% of our General Fund revenue. Business license taxes, also paid by restaurants, provide an additional 6.6% of town revenue.
Currently, Virginia Tech does not collect meals and lodging taxes, which undercuts local restaurants and hotels. The university asserts that it is not legally permitted to collect local taxes -- but their electric franchise, Virginia Tech Electric, has been doing so for decades. What’s more, most other state universities voluntarily collect local taxes because they wish to be responsible members of their home communities. When on- and off-campus businesses are put on an even playing field, the town and university may come together as a single community, unified by their allegiance to each other and magnified in stature accordingly.
Specifically, the Town of Blacksburg is calling on the university to (1) arrange for the Benchmark Management Company to collect meals and lodging taxes at the Inn at Virginia Tech; (2) have Virginia Tech’s dining facilities collect the meals tax on non-student purchases; and (3) resolve the present impasse that has Virginia Tech operating an electric utility in town limits without a franchise agreement.
Learn more about my views on this issue: Video: Blacksburg Town Council Meeting April 28, 2009: A Primer on the Importance of the Blacksburg Meals Tax Blog: It’s a Fairness Issue Editorial: Virginia Tech as tax collector Article: Virginia Tech resists collecting town taxes
Downtown Re-Development
In March, 2011 came the terrific news that digital advertising firm Modea was interested in building a $10 million corporate headquarters on Main St. in Downtown Blacksburg. Modea will occupy the front six acres of the former Blacksburg Middle School site at Eheart and Main Streets . . . plans are to hire approximately 200 new employees by 2015. The significance of this development for the Town of Blacksburg and the regional technology community can hardly be overstated.
But this isn’t the only dramatic change coming to the historic central business district. Virginia Tech’s new Center for the Arts, slated for completion in 2013, promises to bring new prominence to the arts on campus and beyond. N. Main Street improvements now underway will include over 100 new street trees, brick pavers, a seating wall, ornamental lighting, al fresco dining and a roundabout at the Prices Fork intersection. And a planned College Avenue Promenade will further enhance the pedestrian experience downtown, accommodating a diverse range of activities adjacent to campus.
To some, these projects represent an unadulterated good -- a proud milestone on the march of progress. For others, they are a stressor for small business and a disturbing upheaval to a small town, representing a loss of shared experience and intimacy. Withal, it is significant to note there has been healthy collaboration between many stakeholders in the process: private citizens, businesses, non-profits, the Town of Blacksburg and the university.
Learn more about: Modea ‘s Blacksburg headquarters The Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech Planning for the College Avenue Promenade
The Loss of Blacksburg High School
On February 13, 2010 the Blacksburg High School gym collapsed, revealing a history of shoddy construction and woefully inadequate, underfunded maintenance dating back over three decades. Further investigation found that dozens of renovations had been made over the years without proper permits or oversight, compounding the dangerous condition of the school. Even so, it took over six months for county supervisors to concede that the entire building was irreparably compromised. See my Roanoke Times editorial written during the protracted crisis.
At this time, the county Board of Supervisors has committed to construction of three new schools (Auburn High School, Auburn Middle School, and a new Blacksburg High School), at a cost of $125 million. By the end of 2011, the county will need to borrow approximately $97 million by issuing bonds, then increasing property taxes to pay for them. Likely, a real estate tax increase of at least 10 cents per $100 of assessed value will be necessary. The average Montgomery County homeowner, with a $218,000 property, would therefore pay $218 more in taxes yearly.
This is good news, but it is late coming. There remain 3,800 Blacksburg strand students facing another year of dislocation, inadequate facilities and lengthy bus rides. All students in the county have been shortchanged by previous boards which have undervalued, and therefore underfunded, education in this county. Families of school-age children, business owners, college administrators, corporations and private citizens – every sector of the community is left wondering how the legitimate needs of Montgomery County students will be addressed . . . and what will happen to us all if they are not. Read my views on the real toll this is taking on our community.
In fall of 2011, Montgomery County voters can act to break with a county tradition of negligence and mismanagement. Supervisor and School Board seats in more than half the county (Districts B, E, F and G) will be up for election on November 8. Check to see whether you live in a district with open seats. Then mark your calendar and VOTE!
Learn more: View plans for a proposed new BHS. Build Blacksburg High School, a resource for getting the task done.
Over-Occupancy & Related Issues
Several items lately before Council have served to sharpen the town’s focus on neighborhood relations. A year of work on Ordinance 1604 produced newly -refined regulations for the town’s historic district, including the original 16 Squares and areas surrounding. But this work also produced freshly troubling awareness of issues like owner-occupancy, over-occupancy, predatory real estate practices, and code enforcement generally.
Townhouse owners at Clover Valley Estates came before Council in May for an up-zoning that would allow them to legally rent to four unrelated persons. The request was impossible to address apart from related issues: parking and noise violations, debris on the property, and late night mischief of all kinds in the adjacent single-family neighborhood.
Bennett Hill/Progress is a neighborhood with only 22 percent owner-occupied homes; it has been under pressure for some time. But McBryde Village, with 64 percent owner-occupancy, is increasingly vulnerable to similar pressures. In the first 6 months of 2011, over-occupancy allegations reported to town staff were already more than twice the 2010 rate. The natives are restless: they are out of good humor, patience, and time. They despair to see their investments lose value and their neighborhoods harmed.
The hard work of establishing and maintaining public order and civility is a task that falls to every successive generation . . . especially in a college town. To this end, Blacksburg Town Council has directed staff to review recommendations and best practices for code enforcement of Over-Occupancy & related issues. A report-out by the Town Manager is slated for August, 2011.
Learn more: View video of my views at the Town Council Meeting on May 10, 2011.
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