Wednesday, February 04, 2009

The big meeting in Verona went off without a hitch...

Yep, 450 some folks got together at the end of a day of bad weather (schools closed) and expressed their displeasure with the Board of Supervisors and Blue Ridge Mass Appraisal. Did it make an impression? I doubt it.

VERONA — More than 450 upset county residents filled the pews and packed an overflow room of Verona United Methodist Church to plan a fight against the 2009 reassessments.
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"I'm surprised so many people showed up, but I'm encouraged by seeing this crowd," said county resident David Delker as he watched the long line wait to enter the church Tuesday night. "I'm here because this is simple extortion by assessment, and borrowing a line from a movie, we are mad as hell and we're not going to take this anymore."

The large turnout arrived for an organizational meeting of the newly formed Augusta Citizens Against Unfair Assessments and heard speeches from Churchville attorney Francis Chester and Supervisor Tracy Pyles on their plans to roll back the assessments to the 2005 rates.

Chester detailed his threat to take the county to court with a formal suit if the supervisors do not take action. He said a massive petition, which already has been signed by thousands, will be presented to the board following a March 11 meeting and will be used as evidence in a county circuit court if the board ignores his request.

"This could be one of the largest plaintiff lists that Augusta County has ever seen," he said. "By signing the petition, which is a legal document, you are entrusting me to recognize your concerns in court. This will cost you nothing, too, so you have nothing to lose."

Chester also unveiled a new legal route the group can take by suggesting they seek a writ of mandamus for the county to sue Blue Ridge Mass Appraisal. He said after reading the contract between the county and the company, he believes there are legal grounds to overturn the company's work because of negligent procedures they performed while assessing properties and for not taking into account the full effect of the economic downturn.

"Folks, we got them just like a chicken, right by their necks," he said as the crowd erupted in cheers and applause. "They had the time to change it, but they still had the gall to submit the figures to the Board of Supervisors."

Pyles, who has repeatedly called for a roll back to 2005 reassessments, said it is crucial county residents let the rest of the supervisors know their concerns by showing up enmass to the supervisors' meeting, especially the March 11 session, where supervisors will conduct a hearing on Chester's petition

"If a crowd like this shows up every time we have a board meeting, they are going to get sick and tired of each and every one of you standing up for two minutes and saying 'this isn't right,'" Pyles said. "If we fight this as an organized group enough, they will have to back down."

Following the meeting, county resident Richard Armstrong said he's not optimistic the group will be able to change the rest of the supervisors' minds, but he said he still intends to follow Pyles' suggestion and continue to voice his concerns.

"I'm definitely planning on going to the supervisors' meetings," he said. "I've been sick of what they've been doing for a long time, and we need to do something about it."