Comments on: Kyger on annexation moratorium

By: hburgnews.com » Lohr resubmits anti-annexation bill

hburgnews.com » Lohr resubmits anti-annexation bill — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 21:47:39 +0000

[...] more on the annexation moratorium, read this and [...]

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By: hburgnews.com » Council Candidates on Annexation

hburgnews.com » Council Candidates on Annexation — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:22:10 +0000

[...] annexation moratorium for independent cities is due to expire in two years. Are you in favor of annexing into Rockingham County? If so, where and why would you [...]

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By: samhottinger

samhottinger — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 01:42:58 +0000

In the last annexation in the 80′s the City government at the time knew that the moratorium was coming and decided that the only way to keep the city from being strangled was to annex before the moratorium took effect. They had to show that they would be providing or were already providing certain services that the County was incapable of providing for its residents. Water and sewer services are one good example. All of the documents that were created for the annexation are still kept at Community Devlopment and are actually quite interesting.
Look at the maps of Harrisonburg and imagine what the City would be like today without the annexation. We would basically be the ghetto of the County. They would have all the retail, indistrial and agricultural tax base and the City would be stuck trying to educate the majority of the population with no tax income other than sales and meals. If you look at Mr. Kygers solution to the problem you can see the real reason behind his wanting Harrisonburg to be a town. The County would get to fill its coffers at the expense of the residents of the City. What benefit do you get from being a town resident. You have to pay taxes to both the town and the County. That’s great, double taxes should make everybody happy. What really needs to happen is the County needs to get over the annexation and realize that if they don’t work with the City (and Vice Versa) the will both suffer.

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By: finnegan

finnegan — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 17:48:02 +0000

To add onto what Joe and Bubby said, this can easily be viewed through a political lens. As a general rule, Virginia cities tend to vote for Democrats, while counties (with exceptions of more liberal suburban and exurban regions) tend to vote for Republicans.

If cities in Virginia grow, rural Republicans (like Matt Lohr) stand to lose. It’s a similar situation to the political redistricting scheduled to occur in 2011. There is much at stake.

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By: Bubby

Bubby — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:55:44 +0000

Yeah, Brent has it right – the developers of the Valley Mall were not targeting the mennonite population of Rockingham County. They were targeting the concentrated urban demographic of Harrisonburg. The only claim that the County has to that development is a line on a map, which annexation effectively corrected.

The County “industrial” tax base is agriculture – the third largest farm-acreage in the Commonwealth. And judging by my conversations with the citizens, they like it that way. So my advice to the BOS/County is to make nice with the City, form an Industrial Development partnership and build on our different identities and shared future to strengthen our tax base and quality of life.

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By: JGFitzgerald

JGFitzgerald — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:50:19 +0000

The math of annexation is actually pretty simple. Take the population of counties that might be subject to annexation and compare it to the population of cities that might want to annex. Whether annexation comes back may rest on those numbers, and the corresponding representation in the General Assembly. Those numbers do not, however, guarantee a sensible substitute.

Another factor is the percentage of the state’s population (and GA reps) in counties larger than nearby cities (think Fairfax, Chesterfield) but with the rights of Wise or Page counties. That’s not strictly true, because of exceptions passed over the years in order to further muddy the waters, but it’s close.

The real problem is a paternalistic system designed to keep localities at war with one another while having to go begging to the GA for permission to raise money or change any but the least significant laws.

There will almost certainly be a moratorium extension or some solution just as disconnected from the problem. But a sweeping, realistic, serious answer to the issue of local government structure in Virginia is as likely as a transportation plan that works, consistent education funding, or an admission that the car tax plan failed.

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By: finnegan

finnegan — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:41:46 +0000

I think Bubby’s referring to Kyger’s statement, “the county lost a large portion of its industrial tax base in Pleasant Valley and almost all of its retail tax base at the Valley Mall.” The mall area used to be in the county.

If you look at the map on Scott’s blog, you’ll see just how big the 1983 annexation was (in pink). The mall area was within the 1983 grab.

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By: Miriam

Miriam — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:30:05 +0000

Bubby. I am not sure what you mean by the “Valley Mall area” but the city’s current eastern limit extends past Chestnut Ridge. Ergo, the taxes (sales, property, etc.) from that area are part of our (the city’s) current tax base.

If anyone is curious, the city provides maps online here: http://www.harrisonburgva.gov/index.php?id=1018

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By: finnegan

finnegan — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:27:07 +0000

I hadn’t noticed this before now, but Scott Rogers has a map of the history of H’burg annexations on his blog.

As you can see, H’burg wouldn’t be much at all without annexing.

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