Divided and criticized the town council is unanimous on a reduced tax hike

While divided philosophically and criticized constituency for fiscal indecisiveness, the Front Royal Town Council unanimously approved a Real Estate Tax Rate of 13.5 cents Monday night. That is a 1.4-cent increase over the equalized real estate tax rate of 12.1 cents; but a 1.5-cent reduction of a compromise first-reading hike of 2.9 cents passed by a 4-3 margin on the mayor’s tie breaking vote of March 25.

The original proposal up for a vote March 25 was a staff-recommended hike of 3.9 cents that would have taken the rate back to the 16-cent, pre-reassessment rate. By state law municipalities must equalize their real estate tax rate after reassessment up or down so that the post-reassessment revenue matches the revenue produced prior to the real estate reassessment.

See the discussion, efforts at explanations and citizen comments in these Royal Examiner videos.

The public speaks out and are concerned:

Town Council members make remarks before the vote:

After the Town Council meeting, Royal Examiner’s publisher Mike McCool spoke with Jake Meza regarding his comments during the Council meeting: