Tax rate divides City Council

Waynesboro Mayor Tim Williams has reiterated his support for a 70-cent tax rate, which counters the position favored by Vice Mayor Frank Lucente and Councilman Bruce Allen, who favor a 67-cent rate.

Both Lucente and Allen say that with the city’s 11.1 percent unemployment rate, taxes are already high enough, believing that more can be trimmed from the budget.

However, Williams praised City Manager Mike Hamp’s fiscal responsibility publicly at last Thursday’s council meeting, saying he has already cut $1.9 million from the current budget and another $500,000 this year.

“Never before has a city manager done so much with so little,” Williams said.

He agrees with Councilwomen Lorie Smith and Nancy Dowdy on a 70-cent tax rate, saying that the budget should not be cut further.

“What impact is that going to have on the city the next two, three or four years,” Williams asked during the council’s meeting Thursday. “I’m not going to argue with you that the tentacles of government are too far-reaching, but I think at this point we have to exercise some caution on the amount of, how much do you want to cut from the budget.”

Dowdy says that no one on the council wants to spend money foolishly. The council, she says, can get by with a slim budget for a year or two, but at some point, it will have to restore funding for programs it is cutting now.

Hamp introduced a $39.4 million general fund budget for fiscal year 2010 at a 70-cent per $100 assessed value. As a result, the tax bill of a home valued at the median $207,000 would increase by $72.

Lucente last month proposed having the school division defer $600,000 of its scheduled $1.2 million payment. Under an annual agreement with the city, the school division receives a 42.5 percent share of city revenue from real estate, personal property and sales taxes, in addition to other discretionary money. The school board decided against a deferment, however. 

Lucente remains firm on a 67-cent tax rate, even though he acknowledged that he didn’t have the support on council to get it passed. Cutting taxes three cents would mean a further $558,693 reduction from the budget.

“We can’t be all things to all people,” Lucente said.

The City Council will hold a public hearing on the tax rate ordinance at its next business meeting, scheduled for May 11.