Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 5, 1990 TAG: 9005050227
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER MUNICIPAL WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
They met in closed session for nearly three hours Friday to discuss Supervisor Lee Eddy's proposal that the current city-county boundary lines not be used for the "urban" and "suburban" service districts in the consolidated government.
Afterwards, Eddy said the officials will meet again Monday and consult with their attorneys on the issue.
Vice Mayor Beverly Fitzpatrick Jr. and Councilman Howard Musser, the city's consolidation negotiators, met with Eddy and Dick Robers, chairman of the county supervisors.
The consolidation plan calls for the boundaries of the service and tax districts in the merged government to follow the current city and county lines.
The current city area would be classified as an "urban service district" with a higher level of services and higher tax rate. The county area would be a "suburban service district" with a lower tax rate and lower level of services.
Eddy said that perpetuation of the "old city" and "old county" boundary lines is not the way to start a consolidated government when the emphasis should be on the common good rather than the old "us vs. them" mentality.
He thinks the distinction should be between urban and rural areas, with the urban areas of the existing county receiving the same level of services as the existing city and paying the same tax rate.
As the plan is now written, the governing body for the consolidated government would decide whether boundaries for the urban and suburban service districts could be changed.
Eddy said there is a legal question about whether a state law that would allow residents to file a petition with the courts for urban services would apply to the consolidated government.
Earlier, the city agreed to one change that had been requested by Eddy, Robers and Supervisor Steve McGraw. The school board for the consolidated government was expanded from nine to 11 members.
The three supervisors also have requested that residents of Mason Cove, Bennett Springs and the Catawba Valley be given the chance to become part of Salem if the consolidation plan is approved. Now, only residents who live west of Virginia 311, between Fort Lewis Mountain and Poor Mountain, would get that chance and only if a financial settlement with Salem is approved.
Meanwhile, a majority of residents in the city and county think consolidation of the two localities would help stimulate economic development and improve long-range planning, based on a survey by Virginia Tech researchers.
The survey showed 78 percent of city residents and 57 percent of county residents believe consolidation will help create more jobs. Eighty-two percent of city residents and 63 percent of county residents think merger will improve long-range planning.
The survey also showed that the overwhelming majority of residents think consolidation will increase the Roanoke Valley's political influence at the state level.
Virginia Tech researchers conducted the telephone survey of 1,000 residents - 500 from the city and 500 from the county - last September and October for the consolidation negotiators.
The researchers gave the negotiators preliminary results last year before the city and county completed work on the merger plan. They have now given their final report to the city and county.
As expected, the survey showed much stronger support for consolidation in the city than in the county.
It showed that 20 percent of county residents "strongly oppose" consolidation, while only 16 percent "strongly favor" merger. The remaining 64 percent fall into what the researchers called the "pivotal group" - those who favor, oppose or haven't made up their mind. Based on those who are leaning one way or the other, it appears that sentiment in the county is split.
The survey showed the strongest support for consolidation in the county is in the Windsor Hills District. The weakest support is in the Catawba District.
The survey showed that the overwhelming majority of residents in both the city and county rate governmental services in their own locality as good to excellent.
by CNB