Dear Editor,

These are trying times for a lot of people. There are families in our town wondering how they're going to pay their rent/mortgage. There are people wondering where their next meal is coming from. Local businesses are wondering if they will ever reopen their doors. Even those that can make it through this week/month/year have no idea what is to come.
While families and businesses in this town pinching pennies any way they can, our local government keeps spending our money like it has an expiration date. I understand that budgets were planned before the world went crazy, but in hard times budgets need to be changed.

Aside from glow in the dark walkway aggregate, a new solar power array, and a new police/fire/EMS station; the City Of Vinton has also planned to sell the Braille School to a private developer for $1. A building that has been paid for with tax dollars for 162 years is being given away. No bids, no competing proposals, no public disclosure of the entire plan. They're not only giving away the property, they're also giving away a tenant with a 10-year lease. Any investment property owner would know that this is as good as cash. Shortly after purchasing the building, the owner will be able to apply for a line of credit using the property as collateral. What would you do with a loan for millions in times like these? Would someone else have had a better plan? Would someone else with the same plan have paid $100,000?

On top of this, the City of Vinton is currently under contract with Shive Hattery, a company who recently took over $5 million is easily forgivable Payroll Protection loans. We are also working to provide an iVinton discount to Virginia Gay Hospital, a company that recently took over $2 million in easily forgivable Payroll Protection loans.
I would rather make sure everyone can eat tonight than have a glow in the dark sidewalk. I would rather ensure all local businesses stay open than have a solar power array. I would rather save families from eviction than build a new building for police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances. I would rather our city offer discounted utilities, tax breaks, or award lucrative contracts to small businesses that haven't already taken huge chunks of taxpayer money.
I do love this town and I enjoy the new things that are coming, but times are tough for a lot of people right now. Some might be ok, but a lot of us aren't. I am begging for those in power to at least slow it down a bit. I don't disagree with improvements being made in town, I would just like to have a better idea of what the future holds before we take on massive expenditures. Regardless of your political views, I hope you can agree.

Kord Sellers

Editor's note: I believe that most of these projects at least the splash pad and walking trail, are being paid for with private donations and grant monies, so they will not affect the taxpayer, Matt Boggess Vinton Parks and Recreation Department has been good about that aspect.I believe that the emergency building will be funded in part through federal monies because of past flooding at the fire station, it is located in a flood plain and FEMA desires to move it out of the location. Right now the station is in need of a larger facility to store the ladder truck, and the police station has no place to store cars out of the winter weather so that they can quickly and easily answer calls.Both the Fire Department and Law Enforcement can also offer training to other city departments if they had a place to do that which would bring income to the departments.The Braille School project is a sizeable enough that the city cannot afford to turn it around for a profit, we don't have the resources to take on a project like that. However, Hobart will now be paying taxes on the property which wasn't taxed before because it was a government-owned property. Because it will now be privately owned, and the company will be making improvements, the benefit to the city will be in additional tax revenue created by the company, which will be in the millions.I am not sure the process the committee used in choosing Hobart, but I think it's one of those specialized projects that we want to preserve the structures but revamp them inside. Federal grants are also being used for part of this project as well.So in short, your federal and state taxes are getting a work out in Vinton!Sometimes the city has to come up with a portion, but the payback will outweigh the city investments in the Emergency and Braille School projects.Hope this helps explain, and if I'm wrong anyone else in the know feel free to chime in.When there are large projects, usually our City Administrator, Chris Ward has found funding for the projects to move forward. Sometimes it's in the form of a matching grant or partial funds from the city, but in general, I think it's fair to say that the city pays less than half as part of these agreements in the grant programs.Other questions you had I don't have the answers to.

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KS July 25, 2020, 12:10 am Thanks for the response Valerie! I should have clarified in my letter a little bit in regards to the grant money. I know that that money is separate from the city’s budget, but it is usually still money from taxpayers and I feel it should be spent carefully this year. I also think that we should even be more careful with how we spend money that was pledged through donations. For example, I would gladly donate my own money toward a new municipal building during fundraising. I would also be very upset if I found out they used the money to purchase Tesla police cruisers during the construction.

I think taxpayer money has become a cash grab, take what you can or someone else will. I would love to see businesses and municipalities held accountable for what they’re doing with other people’s money.
KR July 27, 2020, 5:37 pm While I do not live in Vinton, I am curious about the museum type of artifacts that are housed in the Braille building. We toured it before: there was very nice displays and history of the Braille School and I just would hate to see that lost. It is a part of Vinton and Benton County History that I hope is preserved for future generations & available for viewing by the general population. Too nice to lose it. Thanks for an answer to my question.