Editorial
Steve Hart, Kerrs Creek District member of the Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors who was elected in November and took office in January, is proposing a fundamental change to how the county finances long-term capital projects. He wants the county to stop borrowing and start saving.
He explained his thinking about his preference for saving over borrowing in a commentary we published two weeks ago in our Feb. 11 edition. We don’t ordinarily run such commentaries – usually we limit submitted opinion pieces to letters to the editor that don’t exceed 300 words – but we thought the unique circumstances of a new supervisor proposing a fundamental change to the way the county conducts business warranted making an exception to this rule.
We actually hoped to enlist another of the supervisors to offer a counter argument in defense of incurring a certain amount of debt to finance long-term capital projects but we thus far have not had any takers. That offer remains on the table.
In the meantime, we thought we’d offer our take on the issue. We believe that the county is and has been engaging in sound fiscal practices that have served its citizens well in funding long-term capital projects. Nearly all of the county’s facilities have been financed by incurring debt – all of the schools, the upgrades to schools, the courthouse, the wastewater treatment plant, the landfill, water infrastructure, the Innovation Center, the Social Services headquarters now under construction.
Borrowing, it seems, is the way local governments as well as those at the state and federal levels pay for long-term capital projects. This is the way modern finance works. Waiting until the money is in hand can lead to higher costs because of inflation. The question, we suppose, is whether or not the costs of paying interest on debt exceed the costs of inflation for delayed projects.
It is indeed a balancing act. Parameters are in place to ensure that the county does not incur debt beyond what it can afford. It’s akin to a young couple taking on a mortgage to pay for a home. If they waited until they had cash to pay for it, they’d likely be senior citizens before they could enjoy the benefits of home ownership.
The county has many needs that can’t be postponed. We need fully functional schools now. We can’t afford to wait to save for making repairs to broken infrastructure. There are basic services that must be provided to citizens and can’t be put off until the money is in hand.
Hart makes good points when he emphasizes the need to prioritize spending and to take into account future costs of maintaining facilities, beyond what the initial construction costs are. The county must take such a comprehensive approach and be prudent in how it spends taxpayer money.
At Monday’s meeting of the Board of Supervisors, Hart and several citizens questioned whether the county ought to go into debt to pay for a community recreation center. They characterized this proposed expenditure as a “want,” rather than a “need.”
It’s a debatable point. We happen to believe there is a need for additional recreational facilities in the Rockbridge area. Fulfilling this need would be of great benefit to local youth. Leadership of the Rockbridge Area Recreation Organization made a compelling case last year for fulfilling this need.
The proposed solution is a centrally-located community recreation center that would be built across the street from Rockbridge County High School, if the Board of Supervisors approves a bond issue for this project. One of the gyms in the center would also fulfill the need for a longsought auxiliary gym at the high school.
Others may disagree. Our elected representatives have the responsibility of making these often-difficult decisions – to choose what’s best for the constituents they serve. They will decide whether it makes sense to incur debt for this project.
