Dispense with the artificial backpatting

By: Christopher Jackson | Albemarle County
Published: April 18, 2011

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After reading the April 13 article "City Council passes budget" I am curious whether your reporter at any point heard Charlottesville’s mayor or other councilors mention the real reasons why the city’s budget process can remain so pleasant and painless for them? I refer of course to the revenue-sharing, currently $18 million per year, paid by Albemarle County to the city plus the currently $2.6 million per year in additional state aid awarded to Charlottesville instead of Albemarle schools thanks to an aid formula that fails to reflect the revenue-sharing transfer. That annual windfall, more than any other single factor, explains how city officials can continue to enjoy a fiscal fantasyland. The least they could do is dispense with the artificial backpatting and just publicly acknowledge what everyone else already knows. A simple "thanks for the $20 million" would suffice.