Newport News Citizen Resources

	COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA
	CITY BUDGET
	REAL ESTATE ASSESSOR
	REAL ESTATE TAX ABATEMENT
	PROPERTY TAX SOLUTIONS
	CITY'S GUIDE TO SERVICES
	SURROUNDING AREA TAX RATES
	CITY'S STRUCTURE
	HOMEOWNERSHIP VIDEOS
	TAX RELIEF FOR SENIORS, DISABLED, ETC
	TAX ABATEMENT FOR RESIDENTIAL REHABILITATION
	ANTI-KING WILLIAM RESERVOIR INFORMATION
	PRO-KWRESERVOIR INFO FROM NNWATERWORKS
	IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
	DENBIGH WARWICK BUSINESS ASSN

As soon as our finance committee pegs the tax rate we will demand for the coming fiscal year, we will post it on this website or the new website this site will direct you to visit: Come back soon.

RETRO's work since June 2006 resulted in a tax rate for FY08 of $1.10 (down from from $1.20). Because assessments rose higher than predicted, the cut did not result in tax reduction, nor achieve revenue neutral. RETRO's first event, April 2007, was overwhelmingly attended: we had to turn people away. (Assessments had sharply risen and people were worried that the tax rate would not come down commensurately.) Our Fall 07 and Spring 08 events were Candidate Forums (and held in larger venues).

In 2008, our City dealt us a tougher hit: we received a FAR HIGHER rise in the tax rate than in 2007. (By law, VA state code, our rate should have been $1.03.5: unfortunately, state code also provides that localities can hold a hearing to raise the tax to any amount they wish).

City Council continues to overspend and borrow heavily, which raises your taxes. Your only choice to fight this alarming situation is to move to one of the surrounding areas with lower tax rates, or join with us to fight for a lower tax rate.

We hold out hope this year that Sharon Scott and Tina Vick will join the other two ladies on City Council to give us the majority we need to overrule wasteful spending by Mayor Frank, City manager Randy Hildebrandt and those who vote for the irresponsible spending.

Homeowners, unite and work with us. Can you afford to pay the ever-increasing bills the City keeps sending you? Has your standard of living improved? Has crime decreased after we built a $25 million police palace? Have schools improved despite millions of dollars spent (that never made it into the classroom)?

Renters, your rent could rise if you don't get in this campaign. WE THE PEOPLE are the boss. City Council works for us...at least, that's the way it is supposed to be.

RETRO can't lower your taxes without your presence at City Council meetings. The City must obey the will of the people; they don't know what you want unless you show up to tell them.

The population of Newport News fell by 10,700 in 2007. Newport News t axpayers, with an average per capita income of $22,000, (according to the Fed last year, that's slightly above the poverty line for a family of four), can't sustain City Council's spending addiction. At our ever-increasing current debt, each Newport News taxpayer now owes $4,230. And that was before the bailouts started. RETRO demands that the City reduce our billion dollar debt and take care of our current citizens before building more public-private partnership developments to attempt to attract future population. Although the City would have citizens believe essential services might have to be cut to give taxpayers relief, our research reveals that budget cuts across the line of at least 15% can and must be performed. NO SERVICES NEED BE CUT.

A City Management department with salaries as high as ours should be able to give citizens relief if they want them to remain in the tax base. NN's CM receives roughly the same salary and benefits package (about a quarter of a million dollars) as the manager of VA Beach: population 435,000. NN: 170,000.

Tie a large piece of bright green ribbon in your yard where it will show (lamp post, tree, etc) and to your car. The more of these the City sees, the more they realize there are not just hundreds, but thousands of us who want our city spending put on a diet and our real estate tax rate lowered. For your green, call RETRO's information line at 591-8479 or attend City Council meetings, where we are in attendance with green ribbon.

Give homeowners AND RENTERS immediate relief in the form of a real estate tax rate reduction (as of summer 08, we are working on the figure to demand for upcoming tax rate adjustment; it will likely be around 90 cents) and bring the tax rate down again year after year to allow the rate to be where it should have been had our city followed code to offset unrealistically high assessments.

Until we have our billion dollar debt under control, we cannot afford to invest in attracting future citizens; we must first take care of our own. Debt service, like fees and other hidden taxes, adds to our burden.

People are sending email to the Daily Press and to City staff to let them know that after the spike in real estate prices, when we paid far more taxes than our homes were worth, people are now moving and cannot get the price the city assigned their homes. Some are selling for 30% less. Most are moving to nearby areas such as York County, where the higher priced real estate has a tax rate/crime rate/school record that makes it worthwhile to relocate into a more expensive home.

We have repeatedly asked the City Manager and City Council to cut spending in every department possible. Although we meet or speak with them by appointment or at their pleasure, our requests have been ignored and City managers (for some reason, we have a City manager, a City Manager Dept Chief, two assistants to the City Manager and three Assistant City Managers) now making salaries that are exorbitantly out of step with comparable localities.

The City must reduce spending and debt to stem the exodus of our middle class to lower taxed, safer surrounding localities with better schools. Investors are afraid of investing in Newport News: The taxes are simply too high.

Don't look for any tax relief if you don't come to City Council meetings. Contact your representative to state your wishes: info below.