Someone is still paying games.

“Big drop
Manassas Park homeowners will see an average decline of 41 percent when tax assessments go out May 22. The city’s tax base is down 31 percent, or a half a billion dollars.”

Democracy is driven by those who show up. This web site should particularly appreciate this principle.

Some of them were even those that went and demonstrated down at Rt. One for the Laborers hanging around.
Course some were teachers but if like the one who protested with the Illegals, they are like these then they are bloody Liberals.

I too am keeping my eye peeled for MP’s next stick save. Houses in my development are going for half what my current assessment is and none have sold for less than 80k less than what the current assessment is throughout 2008. I am about to warm up the comp printouts in case they try and flim flam which I don’t think they will. Last years assessment WAS fairly accurate considering it was based solely on sales from 2007. Immoral and unfair yes, but inaccurate, no. I don’t see how they can NOT raise the rate to 2% without massive cuts to services or major layoffs which none of us wants but then again I am not privy to their methods or what’s going on behind the scenes. It aint gonna be pretty and that rate will pretty much put a lid on any future businesses or home buyers wanting to live in this town since it will be SOOO far beyond the tax rate of any other local municipality as to border the absurd. I know they said they have no plans to implement that rate but imo you can’t fool the math. I tried to tell them early last year that this was coming and spelled it out in a nice letter to the treasurer that went unread most likely.

Don’t feel alone, I too regret every single day the decision to buy a home here. I learned a valuable lesson out of this fiasco though which is location location location. If homes are cheap and affordable then there is a good chance that the rift raft will soon follow and that’s what happened here with the illegals. Now look where we are: The foreclosure capital of Va. pretty much, values down 60%, One of the highest if not THE highest tax rates in the state now and definitely the highest by a good half dollar by June, terrible commute, trash all over. What an expensive lesson learned. Oye ve…

The odd thing is that we just got notice from our mortgage lender that our taxes went up, so we had to not only pay a $1000 flat amount to “catch-up”, but also will be paying $50 more per month to keep up with the new rate…so when would this 1.295 or 1.198 rate go into effect?

Unfortunately I missed the BOCS meeting as I was at work…anyone know how it went?

I thought PWC was moving into the real world. I do not want them to cut my taxes, I want them to deliver services that I have gotten use to - do you rememeber when they saved money at dMv?

I wish stewArt would just be his old self, not this media grabber that he has become.

And a lot of them in PWC are losing their jobs, too.

These are NOT “good economic times,” haven’t you heard? There are people really, really hurting out there….and that “extra penny” per $100 of assessed property value means a great deal to someone who just lost their job, don’t ya think? …and it means a great deal to a business person, who is just trying to keep the doors open and maintain jobs for people until some kind of an upturn comes along.

Ms Vernon, NEA 2008 ESP of the Year, don’t you think that maybe YOU could live without a pay raise for one year, or are you above that? I think not.

Thousands of dollars are taken from the citzens of PWC every day just in dry cleaning charges because the BOCS voted a few years ago to limit the size of dry cleaners to 3,000 sq ft so that the Fixed Price Cleaners who need a large space will not come to PWC. Everything you pay over 1.99 today is a specialy tax that goes to the Korean Dry Cleaners who have taken over that business and gouge us. If your vehicle has over 100,000 miles and the county has it on their computer they do not give you the reduction in value for high milage unless you physicaly go to the county building to protest. They vaule residential lots based on a sq footage rate which is completely wrong. Residential property are sold based on unit yield not the actualy sq footage.

Just a couple of years ago Stewart and the Board wanted to be able to charge commercial property a higher RE Tax rate because it had not gone up as much as residential values. Every year it is a different approach to what the public is told is wrong and who gets blamed that year.

How can you set a tax rate and not know or be able to tell the public 1. What is the assesment value of the properties in PWC 2. how much is going to be spent in actual dollars. The RE Tax rate is determined by items 1 & 2 but we do not know what 1 7 2 are yet. This is bass ackwards… What would one expect from the clowns that are elected to serve themselves and not the public.

Stewart and the BOCS said if you pass the 800 million dollar bond issue it will not raise taxes at all. Well that was a lie before the voting and still is. Who wants to keep believing Stewart and his cronies after that lie just to pick one.