Posing the title as a statement as a starting point for a debate.
It’s 2021, and we’re talking about whether Crozet should be a town. Read the whole thing at the Daily Progress (and subscribe, too!)
Now, some are calling for a moratorium on any density increases in the area until infrastructure needs catch up with the pace of development, while others are suggesting Crozet become an officially incorporated town to help achieve the community’s desire to protect older homes and complete road projects.
“I haven’t really jumped on board the, ‘OK, let’s incorporate,’ just because I feel like it creates some redundancies and additional tax burdens,” said Pesch. “If we can work together with county staff and the Planning Commission and the [Board of Supervisors] to all be happy and share our resources and share the burden of growing pains, then why should we become a town, at least at this point?”
Pesch said the master plan revision process has sparked more talk about Crozet potentially becoming a town — “way more frequently than I have ever heard it before” — though no formal effort has begun to her knowledge. The idea was broached at a Planning Commission meeting last week by Commissioner Rick Randolph.
For background*
2007 – Should Crozet become a town? (thanks, Cvillenews)
There are a couple of reasons that Crozet doesn’t incorporate, and three of those are that
1) We’d have to pay separate taxes to the town
2) We’d have to hire our own police force with said taxes
3) Everybody wants everything but doesn’t want to pay for it.
2016 – If Crozet Became a Town – What Might its Budget Look Like?
EASY QUESTIONS ABOUT “IF CROZET BECAME A TOWN”?
- Would you be willing to pay more in taxes to have more control over the future of Crozet?
- Would yet another layer of bureaucracy be a good thing?
- How is being a town working out for Scottsville?
A BIG QUESTION
@realcrozetva what additional services would you want for your town taxes?
A Budget from a friend
Here is a link to what a Crozet budget would look like if incorporated from a very well run Town that is comparable in community feel and size.
And 2016 discussion about Service Districts
And Back to 2021
Big discussion at Nextdoor, which is a private group with conversations that would best be held in public.
*This is why blogs matter – context, historical links, archiving information and discussions in an open format – all of these matter.
We are ‘newbies’…only 6+ years in Crozet…The town that isn’t a town. I think we should incorporate. Of course that will cost residents more. Of course, doing nothing is the default (easy) choice. It also allows everyone to blame AC for what doesn’t get done. Why can’t renters help pay? Every lease could come with a ‘Crozet Fee’. If the so-called Crozet Town Center ever happens, it should generate quite a bit of revenue…which AC will get as things now stand.