…and it just ain’t true, folks.
Here’s the deal. In 2010, Susan Stimpson argued for a 6-cent tax cut. The Stafford BOS majority wanted a 4-cent tax cut… so what did Susan do?
She voted against the budget.
Right play, yes? It is in my opinion… frankly, as a local elected, if you don’t like the budget don’t vote for it. That’s your call entirely. Susan probably would have gotten more traction if she offered a substitute motion, but alas it was not to be:
Both the tax rate and the budget passed on 4-3 votes, with Supervisors Paul Milde, Susan Stimpson and Bob Woodson voting against them. Woodson wanted a higher tax rate and more money appropriated to county schools while both Milde and Stimpson thought that more cuts could be made and the tax rate could be lowered further. (emphasis added)
Stimpson’s comments before the resolution to bring the tax rate down to $1.10 passed (wow… that’s a high rate) speak for themselves. Up front: “I don’t think we really struggled with this budget” — which is a remarkable statement given the fact that most localities really did struggle internally to make ends meet.
Which makes Grover Norquist’s assertions in his interview on the John Frederick’s show a tad bit out of step — that she voted for a property tax increase in 2010. Click here or just fast forward to the 5:09 mark below.
An honest critique of Susan’s record will demonstrate that she has in fact never voted for a tax increase. In fact, it appears as if Stimpson voted against the tax schematic in toto back in 2010 — so I don’t know where this “28 cents on the hundred” claim stems from…
UPDATE: And now I do.
Susan Stimpson voted for the advertised rate on 24 March 2010 — a rate of $1.12 which was $0.28 higher than the previous unequalized tax rate. This is what Grover is pointing towards.
Is that a tax increase? Of course not — for two reasons. (1) An equalized tax rate is precisely that, and in Virginia localities are prohibited by law to raise taxes through a reassessment, and (2) advertising a tax rate is not a tax increase. No taxpayer feels a heavier burden because of an advertised rate.
Now could someone make the argument that Susan Stimpson was willing to consider higher taxes? OK… perhaps in some world you could streeetch that argument (even though the equalized rate was $1.14 — so $1.12 was still a tax cut). That would certainly speak to her bridge-building background. Did she vote against a budget that cut taxes? Yes she did… because the record shows Stimpson felt she could cut further (and proceeded to get the rest in 2011).
Yet to make the charge that Stimpson raised the real estate property tax by 28 cents in 2010? It just ain’t so…
Folks, this gets right to the heart of the matter where Virginians need to understand how their local government works. Grover Norquist — well intentioned as he may be towards Virginia taxpayers — could probably have used better counsel in this line of reasoning. Or perhaps even better, start introducing “No Spending” or “No Debt” pledges or even “No Fees” or “No More Mandates” pledges — pressures and issues which ought to frighten local Virginia taxpayers far more than pennies on the hundred.
