The Farmville herald and farmer-leader. (Farmville, Va.) 1934-1957, 1954-05-11
Supervisors Cut $4,000 From Budget.
Raise Tax on Merchants Capital By
80 Gents To Solve l054-55 Financing
Property Taxes
Left Unchanged
In Final Vote


OF supervisors solved the 1954-55
budget dilemma with a 30-cent
increase in the tax on merchants
capital and a Wipe-out of $4,000
in proposed expenditures.
The board left unchanged the
tax on real and personal property
which had been proposed as sub
ject to increase from its present
$3.50 to s3l0.
Cutting $4,000 from the ex-
penditure side permitted final APP
prevail Of budget for the l954-55
fiscal year of S775,874. Super
visors specified that $4,000 be
eliminated from the general fund
budget which has been ear-mark-
ed for purchase Of additional fire
fighting equipment for the county
department.
The remaining sd 900 of the cut
was left to the school board to
affect 'in such items as it may
determine"
VIII Raise $4,000
AS approved the tax on mer-
chants capital was raised from 40
cents to 70 cents, which is esti-
mated to produce approximately
$4,000 in additional revenue. It is
the first change in this tax in ten
years. County Clerk Horace Adams
reports that it was cut from 60
cents to 40 cents ten years ago.
and had remained unchanged
prior to that for 30 years, at 40
cents.
Supervisors report that the in
creased tax on this form of capt.
tai is a move to bring it more
nearly in line with the tax on real
and personal property Merchants
capital is assessed at true value.
while real property is assessed
here at 40 per cent Of 1910 true
values. The new tax hike brings
them together more nearly at
about $3.50 per cent
Property taxes will remain for a
year at least the same as current
" listed, S290 in the county, and
$3.50 in Farmville, where the
council makes it own provision for
welfare appropriations.
Get BY" Year
Supervisors feel that the solu-
ton will bring an even balance
between receipts and expendi-
lures in the year ahead This is
achieved, however, by cashing IA
$4,000 F. bond and calculating
S35. 429 balance from the current
year as income. Neither will be
available next year, and some
board members fell that an in
crease in property taxes, or some
new form of revenue, will be
necessary then.
The budget as passed is. as some
supervisors view it. a get by"
budget which will serve salts
factorily until the outcome of de-
cisions before the Supreme Court
and the results of the re-asseSs-
ment of property in Prince Ed
ward counts can be seen more
clearly
New Revenue Demands
The 1876. SIS budget was re-
CURED to produce approximately
$4,000 more revenue than last
years. This arose from a new bud
get item for the first time of
about 100000 which begins a 30
year plan of amortization of the
r. r. Notion High School debt of
nearly 100000 Another first"
was state regulation raising
teachers salaries in total by
$25, 900 in the county OF this sum
the state provides $l2.5O0 and
told the counties they must raise
the balance themselves. There are
small additional amounts in other
budget items arising from increas-
ing costs
The boards decision follows in
line with public opinion expressed
during the public hearing last
Thursday That was almost unani-
rounslV favor Of not tax hike on
property