James City County residents asked the county to stop concerning itself with reducing greenhouse gas emissions and meeting stormwater regulations at a pre-budget public hearing Tuesday.
The county hosted its first hearing on the 2015 budget Tuesday to provide input for staff to consider before the budget is drafted.
Of the 10 speakers, eight attend nearly every board meeting and speak during the public comment portions of the meetings. Another speaker, Heather Cordasco, is a member of the Williamsburg-James City County School Board and was selected to represent James City County on the Regional Issues Committee on Tuesday.
James City County is facing increased costs associated with stormwater management in its upcoming fiscal year 2015 budget due to state and federal water cleanliness regulations, but county citizens said Tuesday the Chesapeake Bay is most polluted by the Susquehanna River. Despite pollution coming from other areas, citizens said James City and other localities are bearing the brunt of cleaning up the Bay.
Resident Joe Swanenburg asked the board members and county staff to stand up for its citizens against the costly stormwater regulations.
“Residential land actually has less runoff than natural forests,” Swanenburg said.
Dorothea Neiman, who spoke on behalf of the James City County Citizens’ Coalition (J4C), asked the board to fully fund the stormwater division’s request for funding in the upcoming budget. Unlike Swanenburg, J4C believes the division’s efforts outlined in its budget plan are prudent to meeting the state and federal water cleanliness regulations.
A handful of residents focused on a 2007 declaration the board signed, called the Cool Counties declaration. Resident Sue Sadler said a “one size fits all” plan is not the answer to the environmental problem; she and the other residents concerned over the declaration asked for it to be rescinded.
“How much money is being wasted in our budget that is tied to faulty scientific claims, green energy policies [and] preserving green space?” Sadler’s husband, Keith, asked.
The declaration was enacted as part of an effort to inventory the county government’s greenhouse gas emissions and to reduce the emissions 80 percent by 2050. The declaration required a plan to stop increasing emissions by 2010. After 2050, the county would work to achieve a 10 percent reduction every five years.
“If we can’t accurately predict the climate, how are we going to stabilize it?” resident Les Skelly asked as he addressed the board during the public hearing.
Resident and developer Chris Henderson had a longer list of suggestions for the county than other speakers. He told the board to “focus on the needs of the community and not the wants of the community.”
Henderson and Swanenburg said the county should do away with its Purchase of Development Rights program, which enables the county to put easements on private property to protect it from future development. Henderson said abolishing the program would save $50,000 annually in administration costs alone.
“I have seen this county buy more land in the last five years than one could ever imagine and enough is enough. Stop buying land,” Henderson said.
Henderson suggested the county evaluate all the land it owns to put it up for sale and reintroduce it to the county’s tax rolls. The county should look at the Jamestown Campground and EcoDiscovery Park sites, he said. He also supported the idea of abolishing the Cool Counties declaration.
Cordasco, who said she was addressing the board generally and not as a member of the school board, mentioned anticipating an upcoming county and school board work session to discuss the schools’ 2015 budget, which includes planning for increased enrollment and a fourth middle school. Putting schools aside, Cordasco said the county needs to welcome certain businesses to prevent the county from becoming a bedroom community. With an increased business base, the county could transfer some responsibility to the businesses rather than relying so heavily on citizens’ real estate taxes for its annual funding, she said.
The board took no action on the budget Tuesday. As the board and county staff work through the budget process, there will be additional opportunities for citizens to provide feedback. The next public hearing date has not been announced, but the board has scheduled three work sessions to review the budget: April 28 and 30 and May 5.
