NRVLiving - Real Estate. Simplified.

Stuart Mease On Supporting Local Business in the Roanoke and New River Valleys

Rackspace, and it's webmail division of Mailtrust - which, coincidentally is Blacksburg-grown - IPO'd in August 2008, yet very little was written about it in the local paper.  Stuart's contention is that success stories like Mailtrust, and so many others located throughout our region, need the support and publicity that all of us can provide.

This is important to real estate for a couple of reasons.  First, Stuart mentioned the term "creative-class" jobs when he referred to Mailtrust's initiative to bring 100+ new jobs to the Blacksburg community within the next 18 months.  I'd not heard the term "creative-class jobs" before, but I like it ... creative class jobs are in demand in what has rapidly become a global economy, and the workforce created by these jobs encourages not only new businesses creation in the region, but also the relocation of existing businesses - and therefore their jobs as well - into the region.  These are not positions that are outsourced; they are jobs that are created, maintained and promoted within the region, and Mailtrust is but one example of this local talent.

Thanks to Handshake 2.0 for sharing the video.

Real Estate Taxes In The New River Valley

Taxes.  Everyone's got to pay them, and they never go down.  That's the bad news.

The good news is that by paying taxes, we're contributing to the infrastructure that makes the New River Valley such a great place to live.  But how the heck do they come up with the amount you need to pay?  Well, it's based on the rate that's voting on by the various municipalities, and they're detailed below.  You'll note that some have TWO rates - one is the Town or City rate, added to the County rate.  And should you need more information about a particular location, feel free to use the phone numbers below to contact the taxing authority.

To calculate current yearly tax, take the current assessed value of the home, divide by 100 and multiply by the current tax rate.

The assessed value of the home is $250000 and the home is in Blacksburg:
$250000/100 = 2500 x .93 = 2325  Yearly tax $2325

The following rates are current as of July 1, 2008

Locale	Tax Rate	Phone Number
Blacksburg	$.22 + $.71 = $.93	540-961-1105
Bland County	$.69	540-688-3741
Christiansburg	$.144 + $.71 = $.854	540-382-9519
Craig County	$.52	540-864-6241
Floyd County	$.60	540-745-9345
Giles County	$.63	540-626-7067
Montgomery County	$.71	540-382-5717
Pulaski County	$.62	540-980-7785
Radford City	$.73	540-731-3661
Rich Creek	$.22 + $.63 = $.85	540-726-3260
Town of Floyd	$.60	540-745-9435
Town of Pulaski	$.32 + $.62 = $.94	540-994-8640
Town of Narrows	$.34 + $.63 = $.97	540-726-2423
Town of Pearisburg	$.29 + $.63 = $.92	540-921-0340
Town of Pembroke	$.30 + $.63 = $.93	540-626-7191

Livin' Just Got A Little More 'Spensive

If you live in Christiansburg, anyway.

No one's ever happy about taxes being raised, and this seems to be an issue at every Council meeting where the topic is broached.  The business license tax is going up dramatically, though, and people are alarmed:

"Currently, retail stores pay a BPOL tax of 10 cents per $100 of gross receipts. With the proposed increase, that would go up to 15 cents. That's still less than the tax for retailers in Blacksburg, where the rate is the state maximum of 20 cents per $100. According to the city of Roanoke's Web site, Virginia ranks ninth in the country for the lowest business tax burden."

I know I hate writing that business license check every March, but in return I'm allowed to business in the Town.  What a tradeoff ... in the end it's worth it though, and I agree with the decision to bring the BPOL up in Christiansburg.  Retail and residential should share in the process.

Motor Vehicle Decals in Blacksburg

Don't forget that as of last month, the Blacksburg Town Council did away with the Motor Vehicle Decals for any vehicle that's garaged within Town limits.  In its place - you knew they weren't going to just get rid of it and not put something in it's place, did you? - they've implemented the "Local Vehicle License Tax".

So what's it mean? 

Instead of decals, the Town will be sending bills on May 15th, with a bill due date of June 15th.  This year's tax will run from June 15, 2008 through December 31, 2009, and for most vehicles will be $37.50 versus the $25.00 decal rate.

Don't forget to check your bill to verify its' accuracy, and let the Town know if anything needs to be corrected.  You can pay with MasterCard or VISA, online at www.blacksburg.gov, or the Town Cashier at 300 South Main Street.  You can also find out more about the tax on the Town's Vehicle License Tax page.

Clear as mud?

If you enjoyed this post, why not leave a comment and subscribe via RSS or email here to be sure you don't miss the next post?

Blacksburg Meals & Cops

That calzone you just ordered from The Cellar just got a little more expensive.  Blacksburg Town Council just unanimously approved a $72 million budget for 2008-2009.  The budget included a one percent increase in the meals tax, and  utility bills will increase by just under $5.   

I wrote about this last month, and surmised that a one percent increase in the meals tax would pay the salaries of as many as ten new police officers.  The new budget will increase the police force by four officers, one dispatcher, and a downtown cleaning crew.  Great!  But look at the disparity between similar VA communities - Charlottesville and Harrisonburg.

Community	Population	Officers	Jurisdiction	07-08 Budget	2007 Calls For Service
Blacksburg	39,284	62	19.5 Square Miles	$6.3 million	21,568
Charlottesville	40,315	117	10.4 Square Miles	$12.7 million	49,689
Harrisonburg	40,885	87	17 Square Miles	$7.6 million	34,009

At first glance, you see that Blacksburg has the smallest population, the smallest number of officers, the smallest budget and the smallest number of calls.  Great.  It's an average of 350 calls a year, per officer.  One of my concerns is the size of the Town, however - a larger Town footprint means it takes longer for an officer to get to a call.  More officers means you can have more cars on the road, and reduce the response time per call.  Chief Crannis says that Blacksburg has been efficient with what they've had, and I'd agree with that, but I'd argue that we could be even more efficient.  WIth almost identical populations and comparable jurisdictions, why does the budget lag so far behind?  With an increased budget, maybe our cops could actually have a laptop IN the car, so they can get real-time data from the car? 

Just a thought.  I'm pleased with our community here, and our high quality of life.  I want to see that continue, and I wonder what improvements we could make to ensure we continue to enjoy this special place for years to come.

* Sources - 2006 U.S. Census population estimates, Blacksburg Police Department, Charlottesville Police Department, Harrisonburg Police Department, The Roanoke Times

If you enjoyed this post, why not leave a comment and subscribe via RSS or email here to be sure you don't miss the next post?

At What Price?

The 2008-2009 Town of Blacksburg operating budget of more than $72 million will be one of the main topics of discussion at meetings held throughout the month of April, and one of the items likely to bite off the largest mouthful of criticism will be the meals tax.  That’s right, eating out in the Town of Blacksburg just might get a little more expensive.

The state currently charges a five percent state tax on all meals purchased within the Town limits, and now the Town is considering a one percent raise in the meals tax, which currently sits at five percent.  The increased tax would go to provide funding for additional police officers and staff, as well as create a cleaning crew that would serve the downtown commercial district.

A one percent increase in meals doesn’t seem like that big a deal.  So I put it to the Jimmy John's test ...

I love to grab a sandwich at Jimmy Johns, which might be $6.00.  At the current tax rate of ten percent, I’ll pay $.60 in tax every time I go to Jimmy Johns, with $.30 going to the Town of Blacksburg and $.30 going to the state.  A one percent increase in the tax rate would mean my bill would soon be $6.06 (I’ve got to find all those pennies that have fallen between the car seats).  If the average restaurant bill is $6.00 in Blacksburg, and 10,000 meals are served there every day, what’s that mean to the bottom line?

•    $6.00 meal, with $.30 going to the Town in meal taxes
•    10000 meals served, Town of Blacksburg receives $3,000 every day in meal taxes
•    Over a full year, that’s $1,095,000
•    An tax increase of one percent on each meal would mean:

•         An additional $960 in meal tax revenue every day, or $350,400 a year

Three hundred fifty thousand dollars can pay the salaries of approximately ten new police officers.  Do you feel like additional police officers are needed in the Town of Blacksburg?  Would you support a one percent increase in the meals tax?  Do you think a public works crew, dedicated to maintenance and cleaning of the downtown sector, could benefit the Town as a whole?