Status of "Take Home Town Vehicles" is creating an uproar.

First off let me say that I can see both sides of this story. This is pretty much still a small town in a rural area regardless of population. I can certainly understand why some people wouldn't want to sell off land that had been in their families for decades, possibly centuries, simply to have a job in Christiansburg. I am also sure that is not always the case.

I believe there are some high profile positions where taking home a vehicle is warranted and even desired. However, I am equally sure that if there is no clear policy there is a likelihood of abuse of that power to determine who takes vehicles home.

Who determines what is needed in the way of emergency response? To have law enforcement, fire, and rescue staff that are needed to respond in times of crisis is one thing. If the real issue is the number of other people taking home vehicles, well, that is another matter all together. For instance, does every department head have a take home vehicle? If so, then how many department heads are there? How many of those positions have been created in the last 10 years? Heck yeah, if there is an emergency I want 'emergency response'. If there is a break in a water main, it needs to be dealt with NOW...but that would tend to imply that at least some of those people need to be readily available. I mean, how many people does it take to turn off a water main until people can be gathered to deal with the problem. How many people are on call at any one time. Are there on call people who are within the town for immediate response, or is there a waiting time for responders to come in from other areas? Should there be dedicated facility for on call personnel (not law enforcement, fire, or rescue) so that they can be located in town at a central site?

There is just so much that is NOT known about how things work that it is pretty difficult to make a solid stand one way or the other. I hope that the Town Manager will respond appropriately to a citizen request for information about ALL town vehicles.

What this is really all about, in my opinion, is taking a hard look at where the budget can be tightened. Make sure that the taxpayers money is spent efficiently. Perhaps there wouldn't even be a controversy over employees quitting if they can't take vehicles home if they are getting paid at a level that is competitive. All in all, when you fight to keep property taxes low, you end up making other concessions that can be even more costly in the long run. When you put all of your revenue eggs in the basket of sales and use taxes and we hit the economic chaos the country is currently in, you better be ready to make an eat a lot of omelets because the bottom of that basket is about to fall out! Tough times call for some tough decisions, I sincerely hope the Town Council and Town Manager are ready to step up and make those decisions. And, I am sorry but begging money from businesses that are in a slump already, whose taxes you've already raised, and who generally aren't very happy with the way things are going right now, may not be the best approach. (Certainly not the best approach for anyone hoping to get re-elected.)

It is time to bite the bullet and admit that property taxes will HAVE to go up to keep the town afloat. But, they don't need to go up for unnecessary expenditures. Town Council: Get an itemized copy of the budget and start looking at what is and what isn't necessary start now before things get even worse. (After all, the new update in the State Code coming in January 2009 will require that the budget be itemized anyway.)
Show us some initiative! Show us that you care! Take control and get the job done RIGHT!!