Enough already, just raise the real estate tax rate.  It’s ridiculous to think Goochland County can continue to prosper on rates that are at least 30% lower than our neighboring counties.

Too many of Goochland’s empty nesters are forgetting what’s it’s like to raise a family and to count on a good school system.

C’mon Chuck, although cutting spending on your precious social programs, including the socialized (public) education system might seem hurtfull, it is the RIGHT thing to do.  I congratulate the County leaders for making the tough decision to cut spending, instead of raising taxes.

  Goochland, like the entire US, simply can not just keep on spending and spending and spending. . . and then asking the empty nesters to cover the bill.  If you privatize the non-education part of schooling (transportation, custodian, and food service sectors), your school’s classroom budget problems will be solved.  Yes, discontinue the free give-aways at the library, gym, and convenience centers.. . the days of living off the dole are over.  Grow up and quit asking your parents to cover your excesses.

Nick,

First off the grow up comment was unwarranted and it’s a bit childish to pick a fight on a comment board.

The fact is that Goochland has long been a tax shelter for Henrico.  We can’t continue to prosper at a real estate tax rate that is more than 40% less than our neighbors to the East. 

I’m also willing to bet that more than half of your sales tax is collected and then redistributed to Henrico or another neighboring county. The lack of real estate tax revenue and sales tax revenue is going to crush the local government services.  We can’t easily increase the sales tax distribution so our only other mechanism is to raise the real estate tax rate.

For profit companies should not be in charge our our kids education.  Privatization of government responsibility is a joke.  Just look at the RTD articles on the privatization of the Commonwealth IT services.

The public school system as we know it now is a relatively new and out of control monster.  Clearly a voucher system is the way to go where parents have options and schools must compete for students.  But honestly it is neither here nor there since we will most certainly be saddled with the current public school system for the foreseeable future.  If the Goochland County public schools are suffering in any way it is clearly not due to a lack of funding.  One need only glance at the mammoth newly constructed palace on Bulldog Way to see our public schools are funded quite well.  This is the first year the school system has been asked to tighten their belt and some would have you believe the sky is falling and our children have been cast into the streets. 

Yes our taxes are lower than surrounding counties.  This is a good thing.  Lower taxes attract people and businesses to the county and are the main reason Goochland will succeed in the future.

land and property owners should not be punished by a tax .the only fair tax would be across the board and everyone in this county over the age of 18 paid the same amount . why should a landowner pay for everything . tax the people who live here equal amounts .
  the burden of taxes should be taken off property and land owners and shifted to each individual who chooses to reside in our county .