Supervisors burn bridges

John David Canoles Albemarle County
Published: June 5, 2008

I guess I’m finally beginning to get the picture.

I moved to Albemarle County six years ago and bought some acreage in the northern part of the county. I built a home here and, with the exception of some landscaping, I’ve left the land alone, so I’d call myself a pretty good steward. I have no plans for further development — I’d just like to keep it the way it is for me and others to enjoy.

I pay a little over $6,000 annually in taxes for the privilege of living here. I don’t receive much in the way of county services so, as far as I can tell, the only drain I exert on the county is them keeping track of my taxes each year. I doubt that exceeds $6,000 per year, so I’d guess they’re making money from our arrangement.

But our Board of Supervisors has begun to make me wonder if I’m welcome here lately. First they close failed to ensure that the state made timely repairs to or replacement of the Advance Mills Bridge, resulting in the closure of the bridge, which limits my access to and from where I live. Ann Mallek promised to get the bridge replaced, but I guess it worked so well as a campaign strategy she’s going to wait for the next election to see if it will work again.

Then David Slutzky came up with this brilliant idea to discriminate against folks like me by raising taxes. A great strategy, if you ask me: Run off landowners and then developers can build more subdivisions, which will create more taxes! And then Albemarle will look a lot like Fairfax, and we’ll only have ourselves, and the Board of Supervisors we elected, to blame.

This board has failed at providing the only thing I’ve asked for in six years (to have an existing bridge repaired), but has continually provided disincentives to me and other landowners.

Yes, I’m beginning to get the picture that they don’t want me here. But I promise to be around for the next election, when I’ll vote for candidates who will work on behalf of county residents, not against them.