Real Estate Tax
Among the highest in Virginia. About 35% higher than Henrico and Chesterfield. Should citizens demand that the rate be lowered to the average rate of the surrounding counties? How much money is wasted in Richmond’s $3 Billion in annual spending? What waste do you observe? What real estate tax rate would you like to see?
In recent years, our taxes keep going up while services decrease. I believe that Mayor Avula has the experience, skills, and passion to serve necessary to make changes that will result in improved services.
I’m sometimes amused but often terrified when the people who decide how our money is spent – or the people who actually spend it – are referred to as ‘leaders.’ Lots of people are comfortable being on the “needing a leader” team – they’re mostly good at following and want everyone else to join them, eyes closed.
Hired help, aka city employees, aren’t leaders. I was once a city employee – never a leader.
The ones who aren’t hired employees, but who get paid anyhow, are those who are elected to represent us. Many of these elected employees aren’t very good at the representation gig and are outright dangerous in the leadership gig…because they’re the ones who want to ‘lead’ the followers. This creates a dilemma for those who aren’t followers.
There’s a connection between needing a leader/being a follower and continuing to elect people who claim they’ll be good at leading. We’ve experienced, and read, a lot during the last few years about how not good that system is.
I moved to the county since the taxes were too high. Richmond’s government has been so poor over the last 8 to 10 years that it appears to have gone beyond the point of no return. Hence, I am very happy in the county and will not return.
I would not mind Richmond’s sky-high taxes if the services were excellent. Heck, I might settle for “good”.
But with all the waste, theft, and plain-as-the-nose-on-your-face incompetency by some employees or managers, I firmly believe that the city is grotesquely overcharing us. Yet the only person complaining seems to be Reva Trammell.
Where are the rest of Richmond’s 220,000 citizens?