Candidate takes rival to task on budget cuts

Albemarle County’s projected deficits need to be met with a mix of budget cuts and revenue increases, including property tax hikes, if needed, said Madison Cummings, candidate for the Samuel Miller District seat on the county’s Board of Supervisors.

Cummings, a Democrat, made his comments Monday on the steps of the Albemarle County Office Building. Cummings’ comments were in criticism of his Republican opponent, Duane Snow, whom Cummings quoted as saying that “15 to 20 percent of the county’s budget could be cut.”

Snow’s statement was made at an Oct. 14 candidate forum sponsored by the Senior Statesmen and held at the Senior Center.

In an interview Monday, Snow said he did not promote cutting the entire county budget, but meant that there were departments in the county that could have budgets reduced by that much through “waste elimination and finding efficiencies.”

“I felt like that was an irresponsible statement,” Cummings said. “Those cuts would be to the bone and cause harm to county businesses and residents. We are a progressive county that provides a lot of great services and I’m not willing to step back on important services.”

John C. Lowry, an independent also running for the Samuel Miller seat, agreed with Cummings’ assessment of Snow’s comments, but disagreed about Cummings’ idea of considering tax increases.

‘Make sure it’s a necessity’

Snow said he never intended the comments to mean that every county department should be cut 15 percent to 20 percent, but that department heads should be challenged to eliminate waste and inefficiencies as much as possible. He said officials should require county departments to start their budgets from scratch and defend line-item expenses in a zero-based budget.

“When you redo a budget and make every expense justified, I guarantee you can find efficiencies,” Snow said. “You can look at a line item in a budget and it won’t tell you doodly-squat. You need to have a department head justify it and make sure it’s a necessity.”

Albemarle County officials are facing a possible $2.4 million shortfall by 2011 as sales tax revenue continues to plummet and residential assessment values decline. State and federal aid to the county has also decreased and unfunded mandates, programs that the county is required by either the federal or state government to fund, have increased.

That shortfall could climb to $5.8 million in fiscal 2015, officials project.

County officials have responded with a list of possible solutions, including freezing more vacant positions, no pay raises and sacrificing more capital improvement projects. Supervisors are also looking at possible tax increases and other revenue streams to help offset the possible deficit.

The county currently has 55 open positions frozen to help deal with past shortfalls.

“I’m not saying we should cut our emergency services by a certain percentage, although we should look for efficiencies,” Snow said. “The schools are our future. Fire and police protection are basic security. I’m saying we need to take care of our needs first and then our wants. There is waste and there are places to cut. Exactly where they are can be found by working with the county administration and staff.”

Cummings said county officials need to cut the budget, but must also be willing to consider increases in fees or personal property and real estate taxes to maintain services.

“I don’t think you can afford to take anything off the table,” Cummings said, noting that he doesn’t favor raising taxes, if possible.

“But the county is getting to the point where they’re almost eating their seed corn,” Cummings said. “They’ve gone into the rainy day fund, cut the conservation easement funds and froze another 10 positions so that they’re now up to 65 frozen positions. We’ve already made a lot of cuts that are affecting our residents.”

‘The right thing to do’

Lowry said the county needs to expand business opportunities rather than look at property taxes to bolster its budget.

“I’m a true fiscal conservative. I believe we need to shape our expenses to reflect our income,” Lowry said. “My approach is building revenue by building business and more economic growth in the county’s growth areas.”

Lowry commended county officials for considering cuts in capital improvements — buildings, infrastructure and equipment — and freezing personnel rather than resorting to tax hikes.

“I think it was hard, but it’s the right thing to do,” he said.

In the campaign for the Rio District seat, Republican Rodney Thomas defended Snow, saying his comments were taken out of context. He also backs zero-based budgeting where each line item in a budget is discussed.

“Duane was talking about making reductions department by department and that there were departments that could withstand a 15 to 20 percent cut, not that the whole budget should be cut that much,” Thomas said. “I would like to look at departments one-by-one to determine where cuts can be made.”

Although he agreed that no revenue source should be excluded, Thomas is disinclined to consider a tax increase. Any increase would be subject to a return to previous levels during the next year’s budgeting cycle, he said. Any future additional funds the county gets should pay for conservation easements, he said.

“If that has to happen, it’s the kind of thing I would want to review every year to reconsider it,” he said. “If we get to a point where we realize additional funding through revaluations, I would like to see it go for conservation easements.”

Tax rate questioned

David L. Slutzky, the incumbent Democrat in the Rio District, could not be reached for comment Monday.

Dennis S. Rooker, an independent incumbent running unopposed for the Jack Jouett District seat, said he believes budgets need careful review. He noted that the county’s 74.2-cent real estate tax rate on $100 of assessed value is offset by a variety of tax breaks.

“By the time you look at the properties that have reduced tax rates for [being rural] and other tax programs, the amount of money we bring in compared to assessed values means we have an effective rate of about 53 cents,” he said. “We always have an obligation to look at efficiencies and I believe the county has done that and is continuing to do that.”