Bedford dumps decals, changes tax rate

BEDFORD — It was a bumpy ride, but Bedford County officials Wednesday ditched motor vehicle decals and implemented a rate change to personal property taxes they said wouldn’t hurt residents financially.

In a complicated move called “revenue neutral” to county taxpayers, the Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 (two members were absent) to eliminate decals and drop the tax rate on vehicles from $8.50 to $2.35 per $100. However, assessment methods switched from taxing only 20 percent of a car’s retail value to 100 percent of trade value, which the county said in most cases balances out the collections.

“I would not support this if it was a backdoor way to raise revenue,” said Supervisor Dale Wheeler.

The county arrived at the

multi-faceted process after months of discussion. Becky Jones, the treasurer, said the county could save $60,000 in expenses from administering the decal, which 60 localities in the state have already done away with.

“Decals are no longer the law enforcement tool they once were,” said Jones.

The rate drop also gives the county a more comparable tax rate to surrounding jurisdictions, which vary from $1.67 to $4.25, most using trade value.

Faye Eubank, the commissioner of the revenue, said not everyone’s bills would be the same and newer cars could go up a little while older cars could go down.

Still, County Administrator Kathleen Guzi said the county put countless hours of thought into the process to come as close as possible to keeping taxes stable.

Guzi said there would also be a forthcoming plan to make sure residents can use some sort of identification on their vehicles for monitoring at county waste sites, which some argued was a reason for keeping the decal.

There would be no charge for any future solid waste decal, Guzi said.

In other news:

Supervisors approved a request by the Bedford County Public Service Authority for an additional 7.7 acres of county land next to its facility on Falling Creek Road. Director Brian Key said the authority would use it as open space to continue serving as a buffer for planned expansions on its current 5.5-acre site.