Proposal is ‘gratuitous,’ shows ‘poor planning by the county’
Town of Washington officials received a letter Monday from Hampton Supervisor Keir Whitson outlining a proposal — raising the town’s meals and lodging taxes from 2.5% to 4% and giving that additional revenue to the county.
Mayor Joe Whited made it clear he was not interested.
“I’ve been in politics in Big Washington for better than 25 years at this point, and I would have a hard time thinking of another example — a better example — of the politics of distraction,” Whited said at the Town Council meeting that evening. “I personally have no intention of replying to this letter, and don’t think that the council has any need to consider it.”
Whited said he believed the main intention of the letter was to divert attention away from the county’s budget discussions, which include a proposed 2% increase in meals and lodging taxes.
“The purpose of this letter,” Whitson wrote, “is twofold: (1) to request that you and your Town Council counterparts consider raising the town’s meals and lodging tax rate from 2.50 percent to 4 percent, and (2) to ask that the town begin transferring to the county’s general fund the additional revenue generated from the extra 1.50 percent that would be added.”
Whitson wrote that the town generates about $650,000 in meals and lodging revenue annually, more than the total generated in the rest of the county, and that all of those funds stay within the town’s accounts.
The council has worked hard, Whited said, to make sure Washington is on “very solid footing” financially and can “continue to support the county” by beautifying the town, driving up property values and “ensuring that we are not a burden on the community.” He called the proposal “gratuitous.”
‘Poor planning’ by county
Whited said the county is being forced to raise taxes “due to poor planning by the county for the last decade.” He mentioned the town’s proposed increase in water sewer rates — for which a public hearing will be held in June — the purpose of which is to plan for the future, and get ahead of deficits.
“It is pretty unbelievable to me that on the eve of a discussion about taxes in the county, a member of that board … would choose to send such a gratuitous letter to the town suggesting that we are not doing our part to ensure Rappahannock has a sound financial future,” said Whited.
Whitson said in an interview Wednesday morning that he thought the request was “absolutely reasonable,” and that the county has been able to cut some costs over the years while keeping the same property tax rate.
“I feel like my request to him as a county representative… was an absolutely reasonable request, and I’m disappointed that he struck out with an angry response,” Whitson said Wednesday.
“I’ve done my part in six years on the board to keep property taxes reasonably low,” he added. “If he was in my shoes he’d probably want to actually tout the success not tear it down … the idea that we’ve planned poorly is absolutely missing the point.”
Down the street at the courthouse, the same letter was mentioned briefly during a simultaneous Board of Supervisors’ budget work session. Whitson read the letter aloud and told his fellow supervisors that he was looking for ways to fund the county budget, and came upon this idea.
“I was digging through the sofa cushions looking for something,” Whitson said.
Whitson made it clear that the letter, and the proposal in it, did not represent a consensus from the entire board. He said he does not want to raise taxes, but if they don’t, there is not a way to even partially fund the school’s budget request.
In the letter, Whitson also mentioned the town’s lower tax rate’s effect on businesses, and said he “continue[s] to hear from business owners … who find themselves at a competitive disadvantage vis-á-vis the higher meals and lodging tax rate the county imposes on their patrons.” He said raising the rate in town would “help level the playing field.”
“That’s true, and it is absolutely a competitive advantage in town, and if some of his constituents that operate businesses outside the town don’t like the county’s tax rates, well, I encourage them to come on over. We’ll be happy to have them,” Whited said before adjourning the meeting.
