Campaign notebook -- Suffolk

On Nov. 4, Suffolk voters will choose their mayor for the first time, as well as three council and school board seats. Reporters Dave Forster and Hattie Brown Garrow will feed many of the quotes, notes and interesting asides from this historic campaign that they couldn't fit in the newspaper. Check back often, because they will update frequently.

Category: Politics

Debranski on taxes

Oct 08

5:45 PM

Mike Debranski said he thinks the real estate tax rate is as high as it should get. He said the city should look at raising more money from other sources, such as industrial property taxes, an amusement tax and business licenses.

The City Council lowered the real estate tax rate this year to 91 cents from 94 cents per $100 of assessed value. The previous rate ranked just above an 89-cent rate in Virginia Beach as the second lowest among the seven big Hampton Roads cities for fiscal year 2008, according to a report from the city's financial adviser. Portsmouth led the way with a rate of $1.26 per $100.

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Caution and the truth...

Submitted by Roger Leonard on Thu, 10/09/2008 at 12:51 pm.

I would propose caution in raising taxes on businesses. That just might hurt more than it helps...

Mayor Linda Johnson claims that in the last seven years, she has single-handedly reduced Suffolk taxes! NOT TRUE!!! The only problem with her statement is that it runs headlong into reality and the facts. Her attempts to confuses minor reductions in the MIL-RATE is not a TAX REDUCTION!!! Johnson has clearly lied about cutting taxes, because every year for the last seven years, the citizens have had to pay much more than the previous year due to her votes on council. There is no excuse for such actions, only the fact that she has failed to act responsibly and now wants to re-write the past, deflect blame, and pander for excuses. She wants to claim credit for cutting taxes while in fact, she is the big spender. The City takes in enough in taxes already, the problem is what we spend it all on!!!

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What?

Submitted by Redskin44 on Wed, 10/08/2008 at 8:53 pm.

Taxing the employers during "interesting" economic times is not good policy. You might want to re-think that one. Hint: reduce spending and hold your precious school board accountable!

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Be Careful About Taxing the Businesses

Submitted by DWahlstrom on Wed, 10/08/2008 at 7:08 pm.

This is in relation to Mike's comment about taxing businesses. Mike, I think we need to be very careful about raising taxes on our businesses; they're the folks who provide employment to citizens. We can't put all of the burden on the businesses that give our people jobs. Additionally, the people always end up with the burden of additional or increased business taxes through such things as higher prices and fewer jobs. I think the first place to start is with cutting the budget, which has grown by leaps and bounds over just the past few years - from approximately 300 million dollars to almost 1/2 billion dollars. I also believe that we should not add an additional tax burden to anyone or anything until we have a coherent vision and plan for our city.

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