SLASHING SERVICES: Declining revenues mean hard choices in Albemarle

First in a three-part series.

Albemarle County’s bid to survive the recession could ax new infrastructure projects, force teacher layoffs and stagnate crime prevention efforts.

Officials have created a game plan to cover more than $10 million in revenue reductions next fiscal year as the housing market bust and decline in commercial activity have hit home in Albemarle.

For property owners feeling the pinch, the good news is that most residents will see lower real-estate tax bills this year. But residents will pay the burden of the recession through service reductions.

“We have been focusing on [funding] things that are really health and safety oriented,” said Board of Supervi-sors Chairwoman Ann H. Mallek, a Democrat, noting that many other services are being tossed out the window.

Numerous “quality of life” services could be weakened, and some fear county government plans to fight the recession will provide sub-par essential services.

“We don’t have the money in this plan to modernize facilities or to add to facilities even in accordance with increased demands and the increased population,” Supervisor Dennis S. Rooker, an independent, said.

Republican Supervisor Duane Snow, however, sees an upside, saying that the county is being forced to become more efficient. The county’s spending sacrifices, he said, will help taxpayers who are “struggling to hang on by their fingernails.”

In addition to upholding his “responsibility to the schools” and figuring out what should be done with the local library system, Snow said he has set out to provide financial relief to residents struggling to weather the recession, including those who have lost jobs or suffered pay cuts. Snow said he believes the proposed $294 million budget — a 3.4 percent decrease from the spending plan approved for the current fiscal year — accomplishes those missions.

The board voted to advertise a real-estate tax rate of 74.2 cents per $100 of assessed value, which is the same as last year’s rate. At that rate, the average household will pay about $90 less this year than last, because assessed property values have declined on average.

While tax bills will decline, officials agree that the approximately $294 million budget plan will force sacrifices in government services.

The budget, for example, calls for no new infrastructure projects for the next five years.

“What remains is essentially a maintenance budget,” said Bill Letteri, the county’s director of facilities development. “I think the capital plan as it exists now is adequate to maintain existing infrastructure, but it doesn’t address any operational or new infrastructure needs that may come at us in the coming years.”

The county had made plans to build a new library in Crozet, for example, because the current one is becoming overcrowded. However, the county now plans to postpone construction of the library at least five years.

“It’s unfortunate that we’re not able to take advantage of a very attractive bidding climate and interest rates for bonds,” Letteri said.

The supervisors did, however, decide to provide the regional library system about $3.17 million, the same amount as last year, despite having contemplated a 5 percent funding reduction that library leaders said would have forced the closure of the Scottsville branch.

A setback for police

The budget plan means the county would lose progress made in recent years toward its goal of having 1.5 police officers per 1,000 residents. The county is staffing about 1.1 or 1.2 officers per 1,000, according to Assistant County Executive Bryan Elliott.

Albemarle Police Chief John Miller told supervisors at a recent meeting that the department has had to reduce community policing. That essentially limits time in which officers patrol high crime areas and build relationships with residents during times of peace.

“We can no longer do that now,” Miller said, citing limited staff size. Miller said there has not been a noticeable increase in highly violent crimes or drug deals, though police are receiving a high number of calls for fights and nuisance complaints.

Including five frozen police officer positions, there are 78 positions in the general government division — which excludes schools — that officials plan to freeze compared with 2007 staffing levels. The school division is looking to cut at least 45 positions, which leaves teachers vulnerable to layoffs, as the division plans to reduce at least 22 teachers.

Trying to stem the tide

Revenue reductions, coupled with new unfunded state mandates and rising costs for employee benefits, have Albemarle officials re-examining spending priorities and looking to maintain core government services long-term.

“There [aren’t] a lot of options to do the fun stuff,” Mallek said.

County beach hours will be reduced, for example. Students on school sports teams will have to pay $75 fees per sport, per season. And less work will be done to maintain the beauty of county buildings and landscapes.In addition, the county is cutting back on work to maintain road medians and parks. County officials expect to have little money to purchase conservation easements; the county has in the past paid as much as hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for a guarantee from property owners to keep precious rural property undeveloped.

To add to the discomfort, county staff is now too busy to respond quickly to non-emergency violations of county zoning ordinances, such as yards filled with junk cars or unauthorized signs polluting county property.

Emergency problems will still draw an immediate response, Assistant County Executive Tom Foley said, but other zoning violations will be dealt with “as we can.”

“It might be that we’ll get out and take a look at those signs in the next few days,” Foley said.

Small cuts, big effects

Many of the day-to-day changes in government services that residents will notice next fiscal year will be relatively small but add up to major dollars saved. The county is cutting back on the availability of portable toilets at county-owned recreational areas, for example.

Work on creating greenway trails in Albemarle will also be scaled back.

“We’ve been asked to put a hold on future acquisition of new greenway properties,” said Dan Mahon, the county’s greenways planner. “We just don’t have a lot of money.”

However, Mahon said, the Parks and Recreation Department is still developing property that the county already owns and is looking to obtain new trails provided to the county through proffers. The county plans to continue developing a trail from Darden Towe Park to Martha Jefferson Hospital, Mahon said.

Charlottesville’s government might also kick in some help developing trails that border the city, Mahon said, and volunteers have stepped up efforts to help.

“We’re working with volunteers to maintain and enhance what we have,” Mahon said. “We can’t stop looking at pedestrian and bike needs, safe corridors, safe routes to school.”

Other spending reductions that could affect some residents include at least temporary elimination of what had previously been a $190,000 Albemarle Housing Trust Fund. The fund had been used in past years to provide low- to middle-income first-time homebuyers with money to put toward down payments.

In past years, Elliott said, about 12 to 15 families have benefited from those housing funds each year. However, Elliott said he expects that first-time homebuyers with low to middle incomes will still have opportunities to receive financial support, considering that the Piedmont Housing Alliance, for example, also provides financial assistance.

Elliott said the county is also axing funding for a program designed to provide counseling to homebuyers. The program has in past years helped homebuyers get into homes by providing them information about legal requirements, home inspections, home maintenance, budgeting, improving credit scores and securing mortgages.

Peter Wurzer, director of research for the Albemarle Truth in Taxation Alliance, said that for many years all levels of government have been “flush with cash.” Now that less money is available, he said, government leaders must focus on being more efficient, even if it means service reductions.

“We need to challenge ourselves,” Wurzer said, adding that by questioning all operations, government can sometimes provide more effective services even with less money.

Foley said that while Albemarle has a history of re-examining operations to ensure efficiency, “obviously, in these difficult times, you kick that into pretty high gear.”

Uncertain future

Albemarle County spokeswoman Lee Catlin said the county has set out to improve efficiencies and dedicate funding to core government needs, while creating local government operations that are sustainable long-term.

“The real story,” Foley said, “is what we do going forward.”

Spending reductions in the general government division could mean residents will see immediate declines in services, with unfunded infrastructure needs looming in the future. However, some school officials and parents believe cuts to Albemarle schools could cause painful blows to students that could damage their ability to succeed in their future college lives and careers.

“We’re in the process of laying off teachers, disrupting the way schools operate, even talking about sharing a principal,” Albemarle School Board Vice Chairman Eric Strucko said.

Next: Read about how the budget plan could affect Albemarle students’ education in Monday’s Daily Progress.