Will plan to protect land raise taxes?

Although a proposed program aimed at preserving Madison County’s farm and forest land appeals to many – it will likely raise local taxes, according to a county official.

“I’m all for this program, I think it’s a great program, except for the fact of how you’re going to get the money,” Madison County Planning Commission Vice Chairman Pete Elliott said of a possible county “purchase of development rights” program.

A nine-person group spent the past year developing the Madison Farm and Forest Protection Program at the request of the board of supervisors.

Purchase of development rights, or PDR, is a term that refers to the county paying landowners for the rights to develop their properties.

Once a property’s development rights have been purchased, that land cannot be developed for either homes or certain types of businesses any time in the future, according to the committee’s report. At the same time, participating landowners can continue to run their farms or forests themselves, as well as pocket some extra cash to help their existing businesses, the report states. Participation in the program would be voluntary.

How the county would pay for the program is unclear. The committee suggests that officials could use a portion of sales tax income or designate taxes collected from wireless cell phone towers toward “purchase of development rights” funds, the report states.

Other sources of money include “rollback” taxes, which are paid to the county when property owners take land out of the “land use value” taxation program, which taxes certain pieces of property based on its “agricultural use value” rather than its “fair market value.” Once land is taken out of the land use program, owners must pay five years worth of taxes based on what the resident saved by not being taxed at fair market value.

“Any funds the program gets from the land use program, or cell towers, in the end, ultimately the taxpayers are going to pay for it,” Elliott said.

If the county uses any of the money it receives from its various taxes and fees to support this program, the supervisors may end up raising the county’s real estate tax rate to make up the difference, according to the planning commission vice chairman.

“Anything you take money from you have to replace,” he said.

Should taxpayers fund?

With the possibility of new county-funded construction projects on the horizon, taxpayers are already likely to face yet another local tax increase next year, according to Elliott.

“There are a lot of elderly people in the county living on Social Security. They are living month to month and now they’re going to make taxes so high these people will have to choose between paying for heat, paying for electricity or paying their taxes,” he said, adding that he will not support the ordinance unless he is ensured that taxpayers are not going to have to fund it.

“If the ordinance is passed and there’s nothing in it that says the county cannot put tax dollars toward it, they will put tax dollars toward it,” he said.
Committee member Beth Pastore previously told The Eagle that the program is one way to help keep farms successful in Madison County and ward off development. She has said that if the community supports preserving its farms and forests, it should be willing to set aside money for the program.

In addition, passing a purchase of development rights ordinance will help bring in money for the program from other sources, according to the committee’s report. Once a local program is established, the county will be eligible to apply and receive state matching funds, federal grants and private donations to support the program, the report states. Some landowners may be able to donate a portion of the price of its development rights as the county’s local match for these outside funds, according to the report.

Elliott says he supports protecting the county’s farmland as long as it does not put a burden on taxpayers.

“Anyone who wants to donate [his or her] development rights, I think it’s great,” he said. The committee’s report explains that county-funded purchase of development rights programs aim to broaden the conservation of farms and forests for owners who might not be able to afford to donate their development rights, according to the report.

Development inevitable

The planning commission vice chairman said he has spoken to numerous local farmers about the program and said that he doubts any major farmers will participate if it’s established.

While receiving money from the county in exchange for development rights may help farmers put money into their businesses now, it’s not a good financial decision in the long run if the county does get developed, according to Elliott.

“If you have 500 acres of land and you sell your development rights for $1 million, how do you know 20 years from now your land won’t be worth $20 million? A smart businessman would never do this,” he said.

Elliott, who works as a general superintendent for Maryland-based Facchina Construction Company, has helped build highways and subdivisions from Baltimore, Md. to Culpeper for all of his working life, he said.

While he says there are some things Madison County can do and has already done to try and control growth – like including certain restrictions in its zoning and subdivision ordinances – over time, it’s inevitable that development will occur here.

“I don’t want to see it happen here, but in a period of time it’s going to happen,” he said.

“Development is on its way to the county, not right now because the market doesn’t support it, but it’s coming.”

The group presented its report to officials at the regularly scheduled Sept. 3 joint meeting between the Madison County Board of Supervisors and the Madison County Planning Commission.

If the supervisors decide to accept the committee’s recommended ordinance, officials must then schedule a public hearing to receive public comment regarding the proposed ordinance before they vote on its approval.