Community Development Authorities, Who Really Benefits?

I actually laughed out loud while reading this article in the 5/28/06 addition of the WAPO regarding a proposed Community Development Authority (CDA) for the Route 50 corridor in Loudoun County.

To summarize the article, a Community Development Authority is basically a relatively new tool that developers can use to pay for infrastructure improvements such as roads, schools, parks, etc.

But here’s the catch – developers really don’t pay anything at all. They issue tax-free government bonds to get the cash needed to build the infrastructure that will be needed to support the new development. In this case it’s 15,000 new homes.

So, who pays? Property owners who live within the CDA pay the bonds back. The WAPO states, “On top of their county real estate taxes, most property owners within the developments would pay an annual fee for 30 years -- as much as $1,900 for each home -- to pay off the bonds that would finance the improvements.”

Loudoun Supervisor Jim Burton sums it up best when he said, “The citizens who buy those homes will be burdened with an additional tax over and above the regular property tax…It's an unfair additional burden when other citizens and residents in the county will get to use the facilities that that tax district would fund." Right on, brother.

Greenvest, the company proposing to build the houses under the CDA says that folks opposed to growth can't have it both ways. In other words they can’t complain that developers don't pay their way -- and complain when they do. That’s not much of an argument if you ask me because the property owners are the ones who are paying.

CDA’s are only good for one entity in the equation; in this case it’s the developers. If there is any benefit to the taxpayer, I’d like to know what it is.

Good Bye Open Primary, Hello Supreme Court?

I recently read several posts about a lawsuit challenging Virginia's "Open Primary" statute.

They can be found here (The Jaded JD) and here (Not Larry Sabato).

The case has not yet been decided, and I may be jumping the gun, but if The Commonwealth no longer has open primaries, does that mean all races will be convention-style elections?

As a taxpayer, aren't my constitutional rights being violated if a party holds a primary using taxpayer dollars and then doesn't allow a citizen to vote?

What about Independent voters? Will they be forced to register by party? Or, are you saying that the only way to remain an Independent voter is to exclude yourself from primary elections? Again, the same question arises, why should Independent voters' tax dollars go to pay for a party primary that they can't vote in?

It would seem to me that the only solution is for political party's to have a convention style nomination. And, most importantly PAY FOR IT THEMSELVES.

Stuck Behind The Speaker (Howell)

I picked this up over at Bacon's Rebellion, Bacon's Rebellion: Another Day, Another Diatribe and I found this link rather interesting, http://stuckbehindthespeaker.blogspot.com/

Welcome to the Va. Blogosphere!

No More Meter Maids!

Perhaps the best editorial in months to appear in The Winchester Star ran this past Saturday.

The issue? Parking meters. Specifically, why they should be removed from historic downtown Winchester.

The Winchester Old Town Development Board would like the Winchester City Council to consider removing parking meters from the downtown area. IMHO, this is a great idea for several reasons.

First, downtown merchants face stiff competition from big box retailers where the parking is free. When was the last time you had to pay to park at Wal-Mart?

Second, if you do get a ticket for a parking violation the fine is only $6.00 or something like that……if you pay the fine within 24 hours. If you don’t pay it within 24 hours the fine goes up to $25 dollars. Violators are left with a “gotcha” feeling when they pick up their ticket and read the fine print because most people can’t make it to the police station within 24 hours to pay the fine. Getting a ticket also makes you think twice about going downtown to do business.

That can't be good for downtown merchants. Patrons are left saying, "why not go to a big box store? After all, the parking is free."

Sadly, as of this posting, no City Council member wants to push for removal of the meters. Hopefully, that will change.

Jill Holtzman Vogel - 27th District Digest 3.0

Upon entering my house this afternoon and looking in the mailbox, I noticed a nice, slick, 4-page flyer and knew almost immediately it was the long awaited "District Digest" sent out by the Jill Holtzman Campaign.

For those that don't know, Jill is running for the 27th District Senate seat currently held by Sen. Russ Potts. The election is in November of 2007 and this is the third mailing the campaign has sent out.

This mailer, like many, is mostly fluff. However, we were given some insight into what Holtzman might do if she were to be elected State Senator for the 27th District - or were we?

Case in point; On Taxes Jill says:























Now, call me crazy, but I would like to know how Holtzman plans to fix the worst transportation and education crisis in the Commonwealth's history. I didn't see anything specifically mentioned in the mailer. If elected, will she cut spending? If so, where will she trim the budget?

On Growth:

Again, she makes many valid points but it's the same old, same old. I need specifics, which are noticeably absent.

The other notable part of the mailer is Holtzman's Exploratory Committee. Wow! It's a who's who of 27th District Republican's. I know some folks were thinking of challenging her in the primary, but perhaps they should think again. I mean, who's not on the committee? Well, the only three I noticed were Mark tate, Phil Griffin and Sen. Russ Potts but it's still early.

I still maintain that a moderate Democrat could give her a tough race. However, the Democratic Party in the 27th is pitifully organized so that's not likely to happen.

Stay tuned for District Digest Volume 4. Hopefully, it will contain more specifics on what Holtzman will do if elected.

To Dig or Not To Dig

The WAPO has a great graphic regarding the proposed tunnel that may or may not be dug under Tysons Corner for the Dulles Rail Project. Take a peek, here.

The page also has a list of various groups associated with the project and where they stand on the issue.

To see another map of the area, check this out.

I can't imagine the long-term maintenance costs on a tunnell are less than that of an elevated track but I could be wrong.

METRO historically has a very bloated maintenance budget and never seems to have enough money for maintenance so you would think that in the long run it would be wise to try and reduce those maintenance costs. That said build it above ground.

Latino Workers In The Valley - They Matter

So, how much do businesses in the Shenandoah Valley depend on Latino workers?

Well, based on this article from the Staunton News Leader quite a lot. Although no businesses featured in the article had to shut down for the day, the article points to something that everyone should take note of, particularly politicians and folks involved in campaigning - These folks are organized!

I am not sure who’s in charge of their grassroots campaign but they have created one that easily rivals that of both major parties in the U.S.

Is anyone taking notes on this phenomenon?

Frederick County - No Tax Increase in 2007

Residents of Frederick County don't have to worry about a tax increase from their local government in FY 2007 and I wish Winchester residents could say the same.

This article from the Winchester Star has all the details on the County's budget. One thing that jumped out at me was that last year's budget increased by $27,402,953 in the county and there was still no need to increase taxes.

Also, as a follow-up to a previous post by Wild Turkey (Who Thinks Taxes are #1? Wednesday, April 12, 2006) it appears as though the local Republican Party had very little to say about the tax increase that's going to be imposed on the citizens of Winchester by City Council.

The Republican Party, particularly at the state level seems to sing a different tune when other tax increases are proposed - just ask Senator Russ Potts about the reception he receives when the words "tax increase" are mentioned.

At it's Tuesday, April 11, 2006 meeting the Winchester City Council voted 12-1 to raise the real estate tax by 6 cents per each $100 of assessed property value or 9.5%. Instead of the 4th lowest tax rate among independent cities in the Commonwealth Winchester now has the 5th lowest. For more info, click here.

The only member to vote against the tax increase was Stewart R. Masters, a Republican.

In many ways Winchester has what can best be described as a “lame duck” City Council. The reason for that is due to the fact that the number of people who serve on the City Council will be reduced from its current 13 members to 9 members. So, it’s likely that several people who voted in favor of the tax increase will never be on the ballot again – thus the term “lame duck”.

But, more to the point - if the Republican Party is going to chastise elected officials such as Senator Potts for voting in favor of a tax increase it should also do the same to local elected officials.

Thus far, I haven’t heard a peep.