Letters to the editor

Pay as you go

I write this in response to Nancy Dowdy's July 12 letter to The News Virginian ("We need priorities and a vision").

I, too, believe that priorities and vision are needed. So let's take a look at what has happened to date:

The taxes on my home have nearly doubled in the last five years. There are new homes being built every day that soon will be putting revenue into the city coffers.

The Va. 340 corridor has boomed beyond all imaginations.
Yet with all of this construction and businesses, homeowners' taxes continue to rise.

Now, a request has been made to increase taxes to pay for runoff water. That will affect everyone in Waynesboro and most likely drive businesses away.

I haven't seen the list for capital improvements, but I am sure there is a need here for money. The question is, why borrow money-

Why can't we have a reasonable budget offered by the city manager that can afford these things without borrowing based on our tax increases over the past five years-

All the things Nancy mentioned just didn't go bad overnight.
Does that mean there is no routine for regularly maintaining our city- If there is a problem of regular maintenance, then I think giving the money to the Wayne Theatre Alliance and making a 10-year commitment was a huge mistake.

This mistake can be corrected by withdrawing the money and commitment from WTA.

The taxpayers' money would go a long way toward the capital improvements that all of a sudden presents itself.

Our budget should automatically increase the revenue from the businesses and the citizens of Waynesboro now in place based on future growth.

There is NO need to borrow money!

Marshall F. Coiner
Waynesboro

Tennis courts need our attention

I want to make sure that our city has great facilities for our young and old.

The tennis courts at Ridgeview or any of the other public courts need to be well maintained ("City tennis courts lack love," July 17).

My father was an avid tennis player and played just about every day on either the courts at Ridgeview or the courts at Waynesboro High School.

The group of men who played each morning was, I am sure, not the only ones that used these facilities on a daily basis.

This is a great sport for the young and old and it is a prime importance to have our courts in good repair, just like the War Memorial Pool.

We have state swim meets there and if we have well-maintained tennis courts, our city could attract top-notch tennis meets.

To me, it is a win-win project and would only bring many people to our town and money into the shops, restaurants and motels in our city. 

With the Serenity Garden now in progress at the park, we need to update all the other facilities in our parks. 

Ron Hiserman
Waynesboro