FUSD billing error led to $102,000 revenue shortfall
By Heather Michon
Correspondent
Accusations of mismanagement by a candidate for commissioner of the revenue may have led to a lengthy presentation on Fluvanna County’s land use assessment program at the Board of Supervisors meeting on Wednesday night (Aug. 20).
Palmyra residents Donald and Patti Reynard, who have criticized the land use program and Sheridan’s management of the program for the past several months, have repeatedly asked for the board to hold a town hall or public meeting on the subject.
Land use taxation is a system that offers landowners the ability to have their property assessed based on its use–agricultural, horticultural, forestal, or open space–rather than its market value.
Fluvanna County was an early adopter of land use valuation, which the state first approved in 1972. The system incentivizes conservation by giving deep tax breaks to owners who keep their property undeveloped.
County Attorney Dan Whitten said 107,000 acres in Fluvanna are currently in the land use program. Combined with 17,000 acres in conservation easements, that means over 65 percent of Fluvanna’s total acreage is protected from development.
“I think it is one of the singular programs, in tandem with conservation easements, that helps us maintain the rural character of this county,” said Commissioner of the Revenue Mel Sheridan, whose office administers the land use program.
Whitten delved deep into the details of the program, which is regulated by multiple layers of state and local bureaucracy. Guidelines for use values are set annually by the State Land Evaluation Advisory Council (SLEAC). Counties do have some discretion over how to apply these values; for example, Fluvanna uses a weighted average method, which prevents land from being valued at $0 per acre.
If a landowner falls out of compliance, decides to subdivide or develop or rezone their property, they pay “rollback” taxes for the current tax year plus the previous five years, including interest.
Unlike many presentations, this one presumably did not tell the supervisors much they did not already know. All have voiced support for the program in recent months, and some have property in the county currently under land use valuations.
Some in the community have raised questions about the fairness of the program, which benefits those who own large tracts of land and shifts the tax burden to residential homeowners with plots of less than five acres, and who thus do not qualify for the program.
Few have been as vocal as the Reynards. With Sheridan set to retire on December 31, Donald Reynard recently announced his candidacy for commissioner of the revenue.
Sheridan was clearly angered by the repeated accusations of mismanagement and malfeasance, saying, “it is a thoroughly and professionally administered program. I stand solidly behind that, regardless of what may be inferred from time to time.”
If the presentation was designed to quell the criticism, it was unsuccessful.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Reynard made comments at the end of the meeting, accusing supervisors of personally benefiting from the program and failing to file legally required forms, arguing that the county’s use of the open space designation violated state law, and calling once again for a full audit of Sheridan’s office after his departure.
“Set me down with the auditors. We can expose it. I’m here to expose the truth and the facts, and nobody wants that,” said Patti Reynard. “And that’s how rumors start when people are afraid of the truth and the facts being exposed. We create rumors, false accusations, and character assassination. That’s what I’m against.”
Supervisors did not respond to the accusations, as they do not generally respond directly to speakers during public comments.
FUSD RATES
An administrative error in the county’s utility billing system led to a $102,000 revenue shortfall in the Fork Union Sanitary District’s (FUSD’s) budget over the last year.
Instead of being charged $11.22 per 1,000 gallons, customers were charged $11.20 per 2,000 gallons.
Combined with two $70,000 pump replacements, FUSD has a budget shortfall of close to $166,000.
To remedy the shortfall and get the utility back on track, county staff is proposing new rates. The base rate for the first 2,000 gallons would rise from $24 to $27, and pricing per 1,000 gallon after the first 2,000 could climb from $11.22 to as high as $15.
Supervisors were asked to approve a notice for a public hearing on the proposed rates.
Fork Union Supervisors Mike Goad renewed his opposition to rate hikes without putting in place a 5- to 10-year planning process to assess the needs of the aging system.
“Annual increases are becoming the norm, but I believe we need a clearer, more comprehensive plan to articulate to FUSD residents as we continue to work on the more long-term Fork Union water project over the next few years,” he later said on Facebook.
He was the single ‘no’ vote on the motion to move forward to a public hearing on the new rates.
If approved, the rate changes would go into effect starting Oct. 1.
