Fluvanna Taxpayers August 2009 Member Newsletter

Dear FTA Member:

What a great membership meeting we had on July 30. If you weren’t there, you missed a special evening . . .
- A rousing salute to the Fluvanna Taxpayers Association’s first birthday, complete with cake and punch. Membership and Communications Director Norma Hutner moved us all with her stirring tribute to FTA’s origins, mission, successes and our late founder, Lee True. Special guest Janice True, Lee’s wife, joined us for the celebration. (See picture and caption in current issues of The Fluvanna Review, Central Virginian and Rural Virginian.)

- A recap and update on the Joint Water Authority referendum campaign, including the latest legal developments. Several FTA members had requested this information, and FTA Steering Committee members Leroy McCampbell and Doug Johnson delivered a fact-filled presentation that brought everyone up to date. In addition, some of the “stars” of the petition drives were on hand, and we saluted their individual contributions to a phenomenal grassroots campaign.

- Announcement of FTA’s next major thrust . . . a first-ever “FTA Candidates Forum” in the fall for Board of Supervisors and School Board candidates. More to come on this in an upcoming message.

- A discussion of member input and ideas, including a proposed FTA focus on the budget implications of the County’s mounting debt service. Look for more information as we zero in on this issue.

To keep you informed, here’s some taxpayer news from recent County meetings:

- Dennis Holder attended the August 6 meeting of the James River Water Authority and reported back on developments affecting Fluvanna taxpayers. His report is attached. Thanks, Dennis!

- At the Board of Supervisors July 22 workshop, Supervisor Gene Ott proposed a County-wide reassessment of all real estate to more accurately reflect current housing values. Chairman of the Board Marvin Moss endorsed the idea, so taxpayers may soon see reassessment relief.

- The County is drafting a “Financial Sustainability” chapter for the Comprehensive Plan, targeted for delivery in September. We should all feel very good about this. This is in response to FTA’s own “Fiscal Framework” chapter presented to the BOS at its Comp Plan public hearing in February and to the Planning Commission last October. Planning staff began drafting the chapter at the request of the BOS after FTA urged adoption of its chapter. This FTA initiative was a first-ever Fluvanna citizens’ initiative to develop an entire chapter for the Comp Plan -- the first such chapter ever devoted to fiscal issues. Supervisor Don Weaver and Planning Commissioner Joe Chesser championed parts of FTA’s chapter and helped move it forward.

- The BOS added a short-term (12-month) fiscal strategy goal to the priorities they adopted at their workshop a year ago. Previously, written goals covered only long-range fiscal planning.

- In response to Supervisor Mozell Booker’s concern about creating better communications with citizens, the BOS added “Develop a communications strategy” to their high-priority goals.

Also, we urge you to consider enrolling in Fluvanna’s excellent Leadership Development Program . . . one more week to register. As FLDP co-chairman and FTA member Al Colville said when he asked us to plug the program: “We realized that the Fluvanna Taxpayers Association might be an excellent source of people who could take advantage of the kind of information that we provide during our sessions. They are folk who have already shown a strong interest in what goes on in this county, and more understanding about how things work here might be of real benefit to them.” Go to http://vanta.net/fldp/index.html for more information.

Sincerely,
Your FTA Steering Committee