Welcome to

Task F.O.R.C.E. Clarke

The (hopefully temporary) Internet Home of

Friends of Rural Clarke’s Environment

Virginia’s system of local government finance is a legacy of the past when agriculture was the principal industry of the Commonwealth. As a consequence, local government is overly dependent on the annual real estate tax. Moreover, real estate development does not “pay its own way” – the public costs of development exceed the revenues received. The difference is paid by existing residents in the form of increased real estate taxes. This can quickly result in “run away development” in which increasing real estate taxes motivate the owners of open space to sell their land, often for further development, repeating the cycle. Across Virginia, each day approximately 180 acres is converted from open space to subdivisions, parking lots and shopping malls. Breaking this cycle requires a change in how local government in Virginia is financed, including the determination of Commonwealth aid to education. These issues are discussed in detail in the memo “180 Acres a Day – Local Public Finance v. Open Space Preservation in Virginia”.

To read this memo

Click Here

If you wish to join this effort or make suggestions

please direct comments to:

taskforceclarke@earthlink.net