Angelica Ramos
Contributing Writer
MONTGOMERY CO. – The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors met to finalize the FY 2024-2025 budget on April 22, 2024.
The discussion on the budget started with public hearings and public addresses to the Board of Supervisors. With Montgomery County constituents speaking during the public address, their main concerns are in property and real estate taxes rising as part of the proposed budget.
“Home prices have greatly outstripped wages in Montgomery County,” resident Wayman Pack said, “Home prices, which drive our real estate taxes.”
“Property taxes are especially unfair to the unemployed, poor and elderly,” Christiansburg resident Patrick Melander said, “In a poor economy like we have today, wages and hours are cut. Jobs are lost. Prices continue to rise from inflation, yet we’re still hit with the full burden of the property tax.”
As the budget was proposed, the real estate tax rate and property tax rate were to go up to 75 cents per 100 dollars of assessed value which would, on average for Christiansburg, raise property taxes an additional 150 dollars a year. For Blacksburg, the annual tax increase is higher. Montgomery County, is less than both Christiansburg and Blacksburg, since there is no town tax to assess on top of the county rate. The Board of Supervisors explained the raise in tax would help in allocating funds for emergency services, fire and rescue services and as funding for Montgomery County Schools.
“So, we’re talking about less than four dollars a week for more than 50 percent of our population,” Supervisor Sara R. Bohn said, “which is, I don’t want to say comforting to me, but it puts it into perspective of the impact of five cents. Now, these numbers aren’t exactly the same for every person because every person who owns a home, that home’s value is different than $300,000 [average home cost in Christiansburg] or $387,000 [average home cost of Blacksburg], so you have to look at the tax rate and do your own math, but more than 50 percent of the people in this county would have less than a four dollar a week tax increase.”
Bohn said she understands tax increases are difficult but knowing that this increase is less than hundreds of dollars for residents annually makes it possible to allocate those funds where they are most needed.
The tax raise in the budget will not only affect real property tax. The raise would also affect mobile homes tax, personal property tax, machinery and tools tax, and the aircraft tax levy at various rates starting at 75 cents.
Members of the Board of Supervisors shared their residents’ concerns about how raising taxes would affect not only homeowners, but business owners and schools as well.
“This is going to hurt the small people,” Supervisor M. Todd King said.
The vote to approve the tax increase passed four to three and then again to approve the budget as a whole.
