Words from the Chamber

Earlier this month I sent a letter to the mayor and chairman of the board of supervisors requesting that the town and county jointly fund a study to determine the cost and benefits of merging the two into a single governing entity. Copies of the letter were officially sent to the interim town manager and the county administrator and provided for informational purposes to Chamber of Commerce board members and a few government officials for whom I had email addresses.

At this point, it is too early in the process to determine if my request will produce the intended results, so this column is not meant to be an editorial statement as much as it is to inform you, the public, of our activity. From the contents of my letter, my arguments to proceed along this line were as follows:

Financial: There would obviously be savings in running one government as opposed to two. The quest on that needs to be answered is whether the cost of making the change would justify the effort. Generations of Appomattox residents have favored such a merger and obtaining a credible analysis of the possibility would either provide the impetus to proceed or “put the issue to bed” definitively.

Conflict of Interests: The current structure often creates conflicts of interest between authorities within the two governments. Our citizenry identifies as a single community with indifference of loyalty to either town or county. When inefficiencies result from such conflict, our entire community loses.

New Business: The duality of jurisdictions creates obstacles and confusion for anyone wishing to establish a new business in our community. A recent example had someone that was very involved with county administration toward establishing a business in Appomattox. Upon locating a suitable lot that happened to be in the town limits, the individual was quite miffed that he had to start all over with a different entity.

Taxation without Representation: Most businesses within the town limits are owned or operated by individuals that reside outside of the town limits. These owners/operators are subject to town taxes and regulations but have no vote in the process of determining such.

The journey to reach a consolidated government would, of course, encounter many obstacles but it would be beneficial to understand what the costs and benefits of making this move would entail.

One such obstacle that could hold the effort hostage is the current meals tax imposed by the town. Moving the collection of such to the county may require a referendum to continue under a single governing entity. Those in power within the town government would certainly be reluctant to endanger the elimination of such a source of funds. Although I hear many arguments against the meals tax from local restaurant owners and their patrons, a discussion of its pros and cons will be left for another day.

As the process of considering my request winds its way through the appropriate channels and, as we enter the election cycle scheduled for later this year, I may have more to add on the subject. Let’s keep the dialogue open and see where it leads us.

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