For decades, the City of Roanoke has been kicking the can down the road and avoiding spending money on maintaining infrastructure – particularly storm drainage, that every real estate owner in Roanoke has been paying taxes for. They have not been using the money to maintain and upgrade stormwater infrastructure but instead have been spending millions and millions on more visible “pretty projects.”
If you were a responsible real estate owner would you be spending your money on a new screened-in porch or outdoor patio and fire pit if you had major plumbing (infrastructure) problems? That is what Roanoke City Council has been and continues to do.
Roanoke officials have known about this problem for years, yet they continue to spend millions on other projects and have now come up with a scheme to tax both citizens and businesses for the amount of asphalt / pavement that is present on their property. They are also trying to hide this tax by calling it a “fee” that will be added to your tax bill.
To levy this tax on individuals and businesses in one of the worst economic times we have ever experienced is a disastrous management decision. It will severely undermine economic development efforts and existing businesses will be forced to pass the increased costs on to customers and tenants.
As a real estate owner who has paid increasingly large real estate taxes over the past several years, I believe it is time to take action and let City Council know that their policy of funding studies and “pretty projects” in lieu of infrastructure while secretly planning to raise everyone’s taxes under the guise of a fee is unacceptable.
I encourage all Roanoke Valley citizens (other municipalities are considering this new “fee”) to let their voices be heard on this critical matter. Email your representatives (see addresses below) and attend the Roanoke City Council meeting on Tuesday January 22nd at 7 PM (and future meetings until a vote is taken) and let your voice be heard or show your support for others who are speaking. If we do not act now Roanokers will be saddled with this new tax forever going forward.
Roanoke City Council needs to start spending Roanoker’s money wisely by creating a budget that will take care of storm drainage on an annual basis without burying citizens under more and more taxes disguised as “fees.”
– A Concerned and Frustrated Real Estate Owner
Roanoke City Council Contact Information
David Bowers: [email protected]
Court Rosen: [email protected]
Bill Bestpitch: [email protected]
Ray Ferris: [email protected]
Sherman Lea: [email protected]
Anita Price: [email protected]
Dave Trinkle: [email protected]
