Comments on: Municipalities to Hike Taxes

By: mpcinsider

mpcinsider — Mon, 10 May 2010 11:02:38 +0000

They held their line on $1.65, but are hoping that the tax revenue keeps rolling in. I was at the public hearing on the tax increase, and heard a person say that the taxes may jump to $1.708, but they miss read the information that was sent out. I got to say enough people pressed the higher ups at MP to hold the tax rate. So I must give congrats to MP for being the only juristriction to hold the line on tax increase.

One major concern is how many foreclosures are going to happen this year. I have seen more houses abandon and if your check RealtyTrac and type 20111 you can see all the foreclosures and banked own propertys in MP.

By: Jay

Jay — Fri, 07 May 2010 16:58:47 +0000

Any news on the new property tax rate for FY 2010-2011. It says on the website that the hearing was this past Tuesday, but no info on the new rate has been posted. Last year’s was $1.65 …

By: mpcinsider

mpcinsider — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 11:15:12 +0000

I will be attending the MP town hall meeting and I encourage my fellow poster to attend. This meeting is just a front for the fee they have already in mind which will be set between $10 and $20. Also I want people to engage the council members on the new tax rate that will be put in place soon which is rising by $.20. So I am inviting everyone to speak their minds and clear the air.

By: mpcinsider

mpcinsider — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 13:12:52 +0000

Yep they Higher ups are trying to get something for nothing and throw the residents under the bus.

I am in a fight with them but they can’t handle the trurth.

http://www2.insidenova.com/isn/news/local/article/former_city_mechanic_faces_embezzling_charge/55473/

I will not be silence and I will not go away. Beware of Fees that are the new MP taxes.

By: Frau D

Frau D — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 13:02:25 +0000

After reading the proposal labeled “City Center Phase II” on the City’s website, I e-mailed Mayor Jones and all of the City Councilmembers, asking them if it was true that they plan to build it. In all of the replies I received, only Mayor Jones stated that “No, not at this time, and not using funds from the residents” (ie. taxes) to build it. They are hoping to make a deal with the builder (sound familiar?) to have the new City Hall built for free on the site of the existing PWC Central Library (if it is relocated by PWC). Treuting & Polk both replied to me that they were indeed moving forward with this project. I forwarded their replies to the Mayor, as he had requested.

By: MPCINSIDER

MPCINSIDER — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 14:03:41 +0000

April 20 at 7 p.m.: Manassas Park will hold a town hall meeting in the Council Chambers on storm water utility proposed fees.

Don’t you all know that every fee they add is a tax to the residents? MP is losing money, water and parts. And they want the citizens to pay for their incompetents.

How is it that a Treasurer and appointed city council member able to acquire those job. For the treasurer the fix was in since her husband is the fire chief. Also the new city council member that fix was in since he has served before. See if you are not part of the CLUB then you can’t join. They are trying to keeps us down and trying to rub me out. I will not be silence at all.

By: MPCINSIDER

MPCINSIDER — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 11:11:22 +0000

Now I know the taxes are going up. They want a new city Hall. It will never happen.

http://www.cityofmanassaspark.us/Public_Documents/ManassasParkVA_CouncilAgendas/04062010/AgApr62010Item15c.pdf

By: MPCINSIDER

MPCINSIDER — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 11:01:00 +0000

Frau D and Everyone else,

I hope more and more MP citizens start confronting City hall and paint the higher ups into a corner. I have roamed the hallways of city hall every time I pay my bills and I know when they meet and what they talk about in those meetings. I am the voice of those who are afraid of speaking out. MP is try ing to silence others and me by threatening the worker bees with being fired from their job.

I want complete opening of the books, but that won’t happen. We need to get our people on the council and stop the over taxing of the citizens. I want the current city council replaced with our guys. Let’s take back the city from the over taxing Higher up and FIRE the DIRECTORS who DID NOT TAKE A PAY CUT TO SAVE THEIR STAFF. They threw the worker bees under the bus.

This Saturday the Republican of MP is going to vote for candidates for city council. I encourage everyone to challenge them to cut taxes. If they do then we vote in more the next time.
It is time to get rid of these people. So everyone confront the Directors and ask them “why did you not take a pay cut”. Also when MP has a open hearing confront the council member and tell them you want the city back from them.

By: Frau D

Frau D — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 18:09:21 +0000

I am in total agreement of most of what has been said. I have lived in MP for most of my life. I was attending PWC schools when MP decided to become a city. I cannot even begin to relate to you what the children of MP have been robbed of, educationally.

For years MP has tried, very unsuccessfully, to compete with both PWC and Manassas. Building “state-of-the-art” whatevers at every turn, with no thought to the future, or how anything was going to be paid for.

And now, with the overtaxing of the residents to the point that annarchy is being bantered about on local paper websites by MP residents who are fed up and want MP to return to town staus.

I think our new Governor and State’s Attorney would be a good place to start, if our local elected officials refuse to hear the pleas of their taxpayers.

By: MPCInsider

MPCInsider — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 12:43:20 +0000

Manassas Park Directors refused to take a pay cut and threw the worker bees under the bus. Now that the School board has set its budget based on the 1.65 tax rate the city will raise taxes again by as mush as .10 to .20. This mean more tax burden on the residents. Also has anyone looked at the MP mission statement what a joke. Also the mayor’s prize project the City Center is a big bust with the developer laughing in face of MP residents. It must be said that MP is on a self destruction course which the will be de-Incorporated within 5 year at the present rate.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 06:30:10 +0000

Yesterday was the first time I had seen the Prince William County Sheriff’s Office 2009 annual report. In the report are pictures of our sheriff panhandling with a sand bucket begging for money. In another there is a picture of sheriff’s office employees on the beach going to take a “polar plunge”. The reasons they are standing on a corner panhandling and taking a polar plunge maybe worthy personal causes, but I would rather see our sheriff focused on how he is going to cut the 2.6 million dollars he increased his budget by in only 5 years and the deputies focused on cleaning up problems in our neighborhoods like drug dealers and gang members. It takes everyone working together to get rid of the problems in our community.

By: George S. Harris

George S. Harris — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 12:15:29 +0000

You can have all the services you demand
And taxes,
You can have no services or fewer services
And lower taxes,
But can’t have all the services you demand
And lower taxes.
There is no free lunch.

By: Big Dog

Big Dog — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 11:39:42 +0000

FYI - Utility cost are heavily impacted by forces beyond the
control of local government.

- Sewer fees in Manassas and MP are driven by their mandated
membership in the Upper Qccoquan Service Authority
and UOSA’s expensive state of the art waste water treatment plant.
PWC has slightly lower fees since they can balance higher
UOSA cost with less expensive facilities at the other end of the
county.

- Electricity cost are going up all over the country. Manassas
has lower rates because it has its own distribution system
and covers a more compact area than PWC. But all the
local folks (NOVEC or Manassas) contract to purchase
their electricity from large wholesalers like VEPCO.

- Water is less costly in Manassas because it owns a lake
and water treatment plant, but, once again, rigorous state
and federal mandates are a cost driver.

- Plus cost have to always be balanced with reliability. You
might “save” a few dollars not replacing aging
equipment (transformers, pumping stations, etc.) in the
short term, but in the long run that has proven to be be
expensive and disruptive for consumers.

By: ...

... — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 03:36:12 +0000

Like the human body sacrifices it’s muscle to protect the brain when famished, MP will sacrifice the taxpayers to protect City Hall.

By: Nate

Nate — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 00:05:32 +0000

I live in MP in a SFH with 2 people total living in the house. My water sewer bill is always 70-130$. It seems high to me. I am worried about the rumor of the tax rate. Could it really be over 1.7% next year? I have not children and have never been to anything other than city hall. Why does a town of a few thousand need all of this crap. Why is a city anyway?

By: Kevin C

Kevin C — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 20:05:07 +0000

Celeste R. said on 22 Mar 2010 at 10:02 am: “…consider…speaking at citizen time on these issues now!”

That’d be great if it had any affect on decisions that have already been MADE !!!

Trust me, you can TALK till you’re BLUE in the FACE and it won’t change the minds of these politicians who, as I have said before, are only “there” to serve their own GIANT egos !!!

Once their minds are made up, NOTHING you say will change them !!!

I hate to sound discouraging but, “Citizens Time” is nothing more than a Horse and Pony Show put on to make you THINK you have some kind of influence over decisions that, as I said earlier, have ALREADY been made (most of the time, BEHIND CLOSED DOORS) !!!

I said, “Trust me” because I’ve seen it with my own eyes and, before I WOKE UP to what was going on, was part of it !!!

By: Celeste R.

Celeste R. — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 15:02:16 +0000

Everything added to the budget costs you more, so stop advocating for opera centers at GMU, museums that attract only a few old ladies and civil war stuff that no one cares about - consider a few letters to the editors or speaking at citizen time on these issues now!

By: sahdman

sahdman — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 10:39:55 +0000

thats the rec center parking lot

By: sahdman

sahdman — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 10:37:36 +0000

Greg L. said
“But they sure do have some nice shiny new buildings, with all the amenities.”

“Amenities”, did they finally finish the parking lot?

By: Loudoun Insider

Loudoun Insider — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 02:48:03 +0000

Poor Manassass Park residents! And I thought Loudoun County was bad!