BLACKSBURG, VA – The Town of Blacksburg is considering whether it would like to become a city. The Town Council was presented with the pros and cons of that decision Tuesday night. Those details were from a study conducted back in 1981, the last time this issue was considered.
Council members say they're discussing the issue at the request of the public, but the debate of town versus city may stem from what some see as diverging interests between Blacksburg and the county it's a part of.
Last month, Blacksburg lost out on a deal to buy the Old High School and turn it into a community center.
Supervisors instead sold it to HS Development LLC.
"Unfortunately we couldn't come to an agreement for that, so a reaction was maybe to look at breaking away," said Town Council member Krisha Chachra.
But Blacksburg Mayor Ron Rordam says that disagreement wasn't the first this year between members of the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors.
"The three Blacksburg representatives, they proposed a tax increase to help pay for the schools for the rest of the county, and the other four members from the county voted it down, so we've just got to figure out where we're going to go and how we're going to meet our goals," said Rordam.
Rordam says it's not crazy to think Blacksburg could be its own political entity.
"Lets face it. Blacksburg is the second largest town in Virginia. I mean we are about 44, 45 thousand people, the size of the City of Lexington is under 10 thousand," said Rordam.
But Supervisor Chair Chris Tuck says there are several things the Town Council may not be considering.
"The county as a whole, right now, owes about 200 million dollars. that includes all of the county debt, everything including the new courthouse and the schools. If you shifted hundreds of millions of dollars in debt, but shrunk the size down to a third, the tax rate would go up considerably," said Tuck.
Chachra doesn't want the town status to change, saying its about more than taxes.
"We have to think about all the kids that are part of Blacksburg, that are going to Blacksburg schools that don't actually live in town. What happens to them?" said Chachra.
Rordam says, at this point, a vote is still far off.
"Right now, at this point, I need more information," said Rordam.
Right now it's unclear whether there is support from Town Council to put up money to fund another study of what it would take to become a city.
Council is scheduled to meet again on June 13th.