Five Tips for an Engaging Public Hearing Speaking Experience

If you’re planning to testify this Wednesday evening at the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors’ Public Hearing on the FY2017 Operating Budget and Capital Improvements Program, here are a few tips to consider as you prepare for your podium time.

TIP #1: While public comment is normally 3 minutes per person, the Albemarle BOS has a nasty history of being very stingy with its elected members’ precious time. When more than 10 speakers are signed up to talk to them, the six Democrats on the BOS slash speaking time to just 2 minutes per person. This change comes mere seconds before the first person signed up to speak approaches the podium. So, it’s best to prepare two versions of your comments, a 3-minute version for full engagement with the Board of Supervisors and a 2-minute version for when the BOS doesn’t want to spend even one extra minute listening to Albemarle County residents, constituents, property owners, taxpayers, and voters.

TIP #2: It’s really too late now to tell the BOS members to raise their proposed tax rate increase of 2.5¢ any higher. Sorry, that’s all the increase they advertised. The BOS can go lower than 2.5¢, but can’t go any higher without starting all over with new public hearings and new legal advertisements. There’s no time to do any of that because of regulations in State Code. So, forget about asking the six Democrats on the BOS to raise the tax rate any higher than 84.4¢ per $100 in value. (The current rate is 81.9¢ per $100. And just so you know, 2.5¢ more on Albemarle’s current tax rate is a 3% increase not counting any reassessment of your real estate. In legal and technical terms, though, it’s a 4.07% increase on what’s known as the effective tax rate.)

TIP #3: If you’re not satisfied with either Albemarle’s tax rate or what you pay each year in real estate taxes and you want to pay more, you are allowed to donate extra money to the County. During your Public Hearing comments, you could tell the six Democrats on the BOS how much extra you plan to donate or you could actually hand a check to their Clerk. This donation system was brought to light a few years back by ATTA (Albemarle Truth in Taxation Alliance), but for some reason has never generated much money.

TIP #4: Bring a minor child to the Public Hearing and have him or her choke out the words of a hand-written letter to the six Democrats about how nice his or her teacher is and how he or she will be crushed if his or her teacher has to either move to Fairfax County for a better-paying teaching position or leave teaching altogether for a 12 month job in the private sector or moonlight as a bartender at a local winery or brewery in order to continue slaving for the Albemarle School Division another year. Your child will get some great smiles and wonderful sympathy looks from the Board and might even make the 11 o’clock news on NBC29 or the Newsplex. And who knows? Maybe a last-minute transfer from a dwindling reserve fund or some unknown pot of one-time money will miraculously appear to fund a few more essay-writing lessons for future juvenile speakers at budget Public Hearings.

TIP #5: The best Public Hearing tip I can offer, however, is to come prepared to tell the BOS where you would remove money in their $376 million proposed budget and where you would put it instead. Maybe you’d like to suggest, just as a hypothetical, that the six Democrats’ donation of $25,000 in tax dollars to the Legal Aid Justice Center be applied instead to the Albemarle County Police Department’s $342,000 budget cut for FY2017. Maybe you’d like to see some of the $88,079 in public funding earmarked for SHE (Shelter for Help in Emergency) go to SARA (Sexual Assault Resource Agency) which is scheduled to receive $20,600 in FY2017 tax dollars. I’m not saying such changes should be made. I’m just pointing out that the Supervisors are simply going to want to know at the Public Hearing what you want them to do — or not do — with your money. Actually, I easily found $960,000 worth of tax dollars that could be juggled here or there, in or out, of budget funds for Health & Welfare; Parks, Recreation & Culture; and Community Development. There could be other places where monies could be shifted or removed. I don't know though because I've been spending most of my time listening to Staff engagement sessions at TAX INCREA$E Town Halls rather than looking further into budget documents. But let me repeat: I’m not saying that these specific funds I've mentioned as examples should be juggled or removed. I’m just saying there are funds that may be ripe for Public Hearing picking.

For me, personally, here are two easy and quick ways for the six BOS Democrats to reduce at least somewhat the proposed 4.07% effective tax rate increase for Albemarle County in FY2017:

(1) Lop off at least $500,000 of the $1 million set aside for the purchase of development rights from owners of large tracts of rural land.

(2) Reduce the proposed 2% pay hike for County employees (general government and school division.)

How about considering lowering the pay raise either to (a) the level of the TWO-TENTHS percent increase in the FY2015 Cost of Living Index shown in Albemarle’s very own budget documents or (b) to the level of the ZERO percent increase in the FY2017 Social Security COLA?

Enjoy Wednesday evening’s Public Hearing on the budget and your engaging 3 — or 2 — minutes of testimony time. I’m going to stay home and watch the video-streaming version. I’ve said my piece.

You’re welcome for the speaking tips, by the way. No charge. In fact, with the savings, feel free to take the family out for a “pizza and a beer” as your reward.