Va. County Increases Taxes for New Firefighters

April 15--PRINCE GEORGE -- A 2-cent real estate tax increase narrowly passed with a 3-2 vote from the Board of Supervisors last week, establishing permanent revenue streams for three new Fire and EMS personnel and the continuous replacement of public safety equipment.

The vote on Tuesday to raise the real estate tax to 82 cents per $100 of assessed value from 80 cents per $100 of assessed value was met with some disapproval from county residents, who asked that the board find other funding sources for the public safety initiatives.

The tax hike will increase resident real estate tax bills by $36.38 on average.

"It is only a $36 increase, but gas is only $3 a gallon. I have to make cuts, serious cuts in the way that I live," Bob Clark said. "It is my opinion that the county or School Board have not ... made enough cuts."

Thomas J. Webb said he understood the need for the 2-cent increase, but felt the board was misplacing general fund resources overall.

The county's need for more Fire and EMS personnel and lower emergency response times provided some common ground between supervisors and citizens.

A Fire and EMS departmental report stated that no medic unit was readily available for 463 of the total 2,906 calls for service dispatched to Prince George Fire and EMS in 2012.

Surrounding jurisdictions handled 270 of those 463 calls, the report states.

Of the 2,636 calls that Prince George County did handle, only 20 percent of those response times were within the national standard of 8 minutes and 59 seconds.

"It will, and I can guarantee this, improve response times. We are expending a lot of energy with our neighbors and they have been gracious enough so far and have not gotten discouraged. But we do need to do better with them," County Administrator Percy Ashcraft said.

Before casting his vote in favor of the tax increase, Supervisor Alan R. Carmichael reminded residents that mutual aid had been used as recently as April 6, when one teenager died and another three were injured in a car accident off Timber Road.

The Fire and EMS department originally requested that nine personnel be added to the staff of seven professional firefighter-medics for $664,000.

None of the supervisors believed that fiscal constraints allowed the county to fund the full request for nine more medics.

For Supervisor William F. Gandel, three additions was a good start to addressing the emergency response times, given the distressed economy. According to his research, five to seven medics would significantly improve the county's statistics.

"There is a cost to local government. My priorities when I was elected were public safety and education," Gandel said before casting his vote in favor of the tax increase.

Supervisor Henry D. Parker and board Chairman William A. Robertson Jr. supported the Fire and EMS additions, but ultimately cast the two votes against the tax increase.

Even though Ashcraft advised against using one-time county funds to support the on-going expense of three new medics, Robertson believed that such an alternative was better than a tax increase.

"I don't think we are anywhere close to the end of this [economic] situation. I do still believe that we can put the three medics in at the 80-cent tax rate," Robertson said.

Both Parker and Robertson questioned whether funds should be put toward the continuous replacement of public safety equipment.

"We have not at any time, I believe, failed to move forward when there was a dire need," Robertson said in support of supporting public safety equipment on an as-needed basis.

Parker added that the county's equipment is in much better condition than its neighbors, proposing instead a 1-cent tax increase and hiring one career medic.

But after a motion by Gandel and a second by Carmichael, other proposals were left behind and the 2-cent tax increase passed with a 3-2 vote.

The tax increase will have a ripple effect on other facets of Ashcraft's proposed budget. Since the school system receives $100,000 on every real estate penny, the extra 2 cents will bring in $200,000 to the school system.

With the tax increase, Ashcraft's proposed budget provides $13.84 million to the division. That number falls short of the local funds that School Superintendent Dr. Bobby Browder built his budget proposal around.

The division is currently looking at a $734,000 shortfall. Without the tax increase, that shortfall would have come close to a million dollars.

The division is looking at layoffs and health insurance changes as cost-saving techniques, Ashcraft said.

This will be the first time that the real estate tax has been altered since 2008. Between 2002 and 2004, the real estate tax was 95 cents, dropping to 90 cents from 2004 to 2007. It sat at 88 cents in 2007 and was decreased again to 80 cents in 2008.

The Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing on the entire $102 million proposed budget April 23. In addition to the real estate tax increase, the budget also includes a 2-percent pay increase for county employees, and the addition of two social service employees.

Capital upgrades slated in Ashcraft's budget for next year include renovations to the aging Carson School, new tennis courts at Prince George High School, construction of lights at Temple Field and upgrades to Disputanta Volunteer Fire Department.

- Vanessa Remmers may be reached at 804-722-5155 or [email protected].

Copyright 2013 - The Progress-Index, Petersburg, Va.