Attack on Campbell board unfair
Campbell County is facing a budget shortfall of approximately $7.5 million, mostly due to unfunded mandates imposed by the state and federal governments and a decrease in state funding for education. Campbell County is left with the unenviable task of closing the gap while ensuring that vital functions such as our schools and law enforcement are adequately funded.
The Board of Supervisors is now looking for ways to close the budget gap to ensure Campbell County can continue to adequately fund its obligations, particularly in education and public safety. I believe good people can disagree on which proposals ultimately make the most sense for Campbell County. Rick Boyer’s Jan. 23 letter to the editor, however, fails to add any value to the current debate.
Boyer’s claim that the Board of Supervisors supports imposing new taxes on meals and hotel rooms in Campbell County is incorrect. To make up the shortfall, the majority of the board has voiced its support for holding a referendum on a meals tax and to present a transient room tax in a public hearing.
Boyer has also repeated his claim that Supervisors Steven Shockley (Sunburst) and Eddie Gunter (Concord) voted to impose a meals tax on the county in 2010, which is also incorrect. The vote Boyer refers to was in favor of the 2011 legislative agenda sent to our representatives in Richmond. The agenda included numerous items such as having political parties pay for the cost of primary elections and for the state to remove costly unfunded mandates. It also included a request that all counties be given the same rights as towns and cities with regard to establishing a meals tax.
Boyer’s letter also fails to address any of the circumstances that lead to the current budget shortfall. He makes no mention of the crippling state and federal mandates imposed on the county and offers no suggestions for cuts that might reduce the current budget shortfall. We know he still has aspirations to seek public office, and I can only conclude that he is reluctant to take unpopular positions that could be held against him in a future campaign.
Our nation, state and county are in critical times. Campbell County has one of the very lowest real estate taxes in the state. Our elected officials have some difficult choices to make and sloganeering by aspiring politicians just make that task more difficult.
TRAVIS GRIFFIN
Lynchburg
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