Entry 409 of 1039
By Think! Christiansburg On February 11, 2009 at 12:04 AM

The General Assembly is supposedly busy doing its job in Richmond determining the new State budget, seeing cross over day on Feb. 10th where the two houses exchange legislation. 

The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors is holding extra meetings to receive input on its 2009-2010 fiscal budget, including regular meetings and special budget work sessions held this week. 

The Montgomery County Public School Board has already sent a proposed budget to the supervisors.  RU and VT Board of Visitors are reviewing services, projected income and expenses, and possible tuition increases, too.

In Christiansburg, the public doesn't know the budget development plan -- just like last year when they were called out for excluding citizens in this process.

State, County and Town budgets all affect individual citizen finances -- and all must be adopted by July 1, 2009.  Stuff rolls down hill, and you need to be able to see what services you'll be paying for at each level that taxes you.  You need time to provide your opinions about this to your elected officials, on top of everything else you already deal with in your own daily schedule or lives.

At what point will the Christiansburg Town Council include the public this year?  Attending recent meetings, citizens know individual members are thinking about the new budget, and its safe to presume they are talking about it and staff is working on it.  In the past, the Town Manager has stated he likes to wait as long as possible, so they know what's been spent in the current budget year.  By now, a pretty clear picture is available (and then there's a simple process of forecasting future expenses based on past payments), and so should be shared with town residents.  No schedule for budget preparation has been made public, even though the state, supervisors and school board have already been discussing proposed budgets and holding workshops, in the public, for weeks now. 

Here's a compilation of links related to the town budget.  Scroll through -- and do let your council members know you want the entire process to be open (individuals and business constituents).  Providing plenty of time to receive, digest, question, get answers and give feedback to elected officials in response to the proposed 2009-2010 town tax and fee structures is expected. 

If you are interested in the quality of life in Christiansburg, how it grows and what services are provided (and therefore what taxes and fees are charged), consider the links a primer for getting the background you'll need to run for office.