By Hannah W. Wever

Published: April 3, 2008

To the editor,
Your editorial, “We can’t have it both ways” in last week’s Review, did an excellent job of laying out the choices facing the taxpaying citizens of Orange County, and by extension, those of us you have elected supervisor. An issue you did not cover is what the decisions we make this year will cost us for the next several decades.
First, the decisions the board of supervisors are making with the parks and recreation programs have more to do with efficiency and management than with cost-cutting. Most Little League programs will better serve our young athletes when administered by citizens and parents than when they are government-run. My goal as a supervisor is to facilitate youth leagues, not run them.
Of course, the 900-pound gorilla, or in this case the $50 million gorilla in the corner is the new middle school. We have discussed the potential health problems of the site so much that the long-range cost to the county has fallen into the background. This budget begins to spend that money and commit us to the “plan” for growth in the county. That will cost us approximately a 25 percent tax increase next year. Once we have committed to the new middle school, then we have accepted the “plan” for a new “eastern end” high school. This “plan” will double our taxes in a very few years. Then there is a real need for a new school in Gordonsville. After all, there are some of us in the county who don’t live at Lake of the Woods. At least the Gordonsville school will be for the benefit of current taxpayers in the county, not for profit of future developers. The problem with building schools to sit half empty until the building boom starts again is, current residents are taxed for the convenience of the developers who might want to build here in the future. That only makes sense if you have acres you want to sell by the square foot.
The hearing on your tax increase will be April 8. Let us know how you want Orange County to grow.
Zack Burkett
District 2 Supervisor