Economy offers opportunities

Augusta County Pastures Supervisor Tracy Pyles in October presented reasons why the county should delay mailing recent reassessments. He knew the assessments had increased greatly and advised delaying or even ignoring Virginia General Assembly requirements that would result in the county owing a fine. Other supervisors voted him down.

Last week, Riverheads Supervisor Nancy Sorrells expressed qualified support for a motocross track in the county. In my estimation Pyles and Sorrells are thinking “outside the box” to ease the financial burden on county homeowners and businesses. They get it.

Though Augusta County, Staunton and Waynesboro tax bases depend greatly on real estate assessments, they are facing different obstacles and are tightening their financial belts.

Staunton’s tax base depends mostly on residential assessments. Residential construction and home purchases are way down.

Until recently, Waynesboro’s tax base was hugely supplemented by manufacturing companies located within its boundaries. Invista has announced 210 layoffs to come next month. Those layoffs will have untold ripple effects so Waynesboro is preparing for the worst.

So far, the county has been fortunate. Its coffers have been maintained due to a mixture of manufacturing and agriculture. In fact, agriculture plays a very large role in Augusta maintaining its economic viability. But it’s just a matter of time before the slowing economy affects Augusta County.

Like Sorrells and Pyles, I believe local residents face increasing financial obstacles. I’ve suggested in several columns the need for county supervisors and the city councils of Staunton and Waynesboro to work cooperatively because the declining economies of all three municipalities will require it.

Some economic problems affect us and others. Take this past weekend for example. Israel announced an “all-out war” on Palestinians in Gaza because of the collapsed Egyptian-brokered cease-fire. Because of this war, the price of oil is going back up.

It appears our six-month gas pump relief is over. Rising oil prices could not come at a worse time for the Valley or the rest of the state and country.

Even if President-elect Barack Obama’s stimulus package clears Congress and jobs in energy and infrastructure open, it will be a while before those jobs benefit us. That delay could be a positive for this part of the Valley.

We have some of the best schools and training facilities around. This would be an excellent time to begin training and retraining workers soon to be laid off.

Local high school graduates, and their families who can’t afford college can learn skills that will be useful for the anticipated infrastructure and energy jobs to come.

The Valley has a chance to take advantage of the future economic recovery. Let’s work together to do so.

Nelson Graves, Western Virginia director of the Virginia Minority Supplier Development Council, writes a weekly column for The News Virginian. E-mail him at .