Several weeks ago the City Council narrowly voted to remain accountable to Manassas taxpayers by agreeing to vote on major projects individually so that the taxpayers could see how their elected representatives managed the money they were taking from the citizens of Manassas for the common good.
However, it now appears that the new City Manager’s CIP process has rolled up all major spending projects for the next several years into one big omnibus spending bill which will, if passed, make those uncomfortable, open individual votes by City Council members unnecessary.
Every special interest appears to have done well from what I’m being told and what I’ve read so far. Budesky’s CIP appears to have been crafted by the special interests for the special interests of Manassas; it promises to make local government already ridiculously opaque and behind the scenes even more so. What does this mean for average Manassas taxpayer ? There’s new, higher taxes coming to Manassas.
i’m glad i don’t live in manassas. welcome back doug!
thanks e.e.
what u don’t like higher taxes? futhermore, this is long term debt, an issue that becomes more problematic when one considers the recent bill passed in the senate down in richmond which allows localities like manassas to grab income taxes form local taxpayers.
i did not know that either. i try and follow what goes on in va. and the country as a whole but apparently i am in the dark. corruption is rampant. i have met quite a few politicians in my lifetime and most of the time they came across as sleazy car salesmen. i don’t want to demean car salesmen but o well.
Doug….The Capital Improvements Program (CIP) process is prescribed by Virginia law which requires advertised public hearings by the Planning Commission and the City Council. There will be work sessions which you can attend. This process will play out over the next 2-3 months as it always has with the transparency of a fashion model’s dress at the Grammy Awards.
Please try to restrain your vitriolic histrionics as the process runs it’s lawful course. You apparently will be surprised by how transparent it proves to be..
Roger,
First, thank you for using your name.
Well, I don’t want to get in any trouble with the law . I’ll just keep my mouth shut and pay whatever Mr. Budesky and Manassas’s high rollers (read School Board & select city coulncilmen) think I should pay.
I figure since the assessments went up that the tax rate would be reduced.
(LOL)
The CIP report reads like a sales brochure for a new car, with only the facts necessary to sell rate increases and a large accumulation of debt.
Lets go back 10 years and compare tax bills.
Lets compare tax rates (not bills) including any levies with our neighbors.
I applaud the new school superintendent searching for waste in the system,
We need to live within our means (like I and many others) and not look to homeowners as a bottomless piggy bank.
Thank you
Bud,
I think we are flirting with some serious tax increases in Manassas, especially with the long term debt we will be likely taking on with the CIP.
While at first I appreciated the show of transparency that the City management and politicians appear to be committed to, I’m becoming more and more skeptical of their motives and their judgement.
Maybe if we take a page out of the President’s tax philosophy we might come up with a fairer, more just tax system in Manassas? How about if we tax the homeowners who can afford it at a much higher rate? People with homes valued at 500k or more, especially those with a lot of equity untapped, I think could pay more. Don’t you?
I think we could drum up a lot of support among the lower income people and renters in the community for this much more equitable tax code, furthermore, we might also offer an incentive to City Councilmen to be exempt from the 500k bracket to kind of help pass the tax change.
Unfortunately, School Board members can’t be offered the same incentive because obviously we don’t need their support to get it passed, besides we don’t want to open ourselves up to charges of cronyism and corruption running amuck in Manassas, nor do we want to let them off the hook of paying their fair share of the money they’re trying to rip out of our kids’ college saving funds.
Doug, about that “recent bill passed down in the Senate” which grants the City to level an income tax: the language of the bill removed the requirement for a referendum and also struck the primary purpose of paying for transportation. The City has had that authority to place the question on a ballot since 2007….and has yet to invoke the authority to do it.
Ray,
I suspect invoking the authority to level an income tax will be a little more tempting by eliminating the referendum requirement.
Doug, an update on that bill – the House killed it even though Senate approved it. But watch out for both House & Senate versions of the bill supporting Governor’s Transportation – yeah, both say eliminate gas tax, but there is a line in both about allowing local governments to impose a tax to pay for transportation. Sales & Use Tax exisiting now goes up from .50% to .55% and a local option sales tax increase of up to 1% to pay for transportation.