Chamber debate spotlights Bermuda District candidates

The candidates for supervisor in Bermuda District - Democrat Ree Hart and Republican Dorothy Jaeckle - responded to questions on Oct. 23 in a public debate at Chester Middle School held by the Chesterfield County Chamber of Commerce. Independent Roy Wallace had to attend to a family health matter and could not participate. Here are the candidate's edited responses to those questions in the rotating order of that evening:

Wallace

What is your position on illegal immigration and its financial impact to county taxpayers?

Jaeckle: We have to be realistic about what can be done. I support what Sheriff Dennis Proffitt is doing who is reporting those in jail who are here illegally. I'm worried about the lack of assimilation and don't understand why government is printing things in other languages. Within our powers, we need to enforce what laws we can.

Hart: I'm opposed to illegal immigration and am amazed that we have 12 million illegals in our country. We should watch what our counties are doing because some have gotten into the issue earlier. I think the county was right in asking for the report, but I believe the report is flawed. Our own police chief has said we can't arrest our way out of this problem, so we should be careful that it doesn't cost us more in the long run and have the federal government step in and override what we have done.

Jaeckle

What on your resume qualifies you to be one of five elected supervisors to lead a county with a $1.2 billion budget?

Hart: Not many of us have dealt with a $1.2 billion budget. I have been involved in the county for a number of years and even taken the big budget home and poured through it. I served six times on citizen review committees that helped on block grant funds. I've been involved in budgets with my church. Having raised four children, I'm an expert on how to stretch a dollar.

Jaeckle: I've been involved with many organizations that had budgets. When I'm elected, I'm going to be listening to my constituents to help me because no board member can be an expert in every area. We have a wonderful staff, but we'll be looking to the citizens to ask the right questions. We have a lot of people in Bermuda District who can help me with budgets.

Hart

It has been suggested that the county budget should only grow at the combined rate of population growth plus inflation. Do you agree?

Jaeckle: I agree with the rollback on the tax rate. Our assessments have gone up 40 percent in the last five years, and the tax rate has only been cut by 7 percent, so something is wrong there. I think the citizens would support county spending if they knew where the money is going. They're not seeing an increase in services, and I don't think they want an increase in services. Controlling spending is the biggest challenge we are facing.

Hart: That is simplistic and not a good formula to follow. We need to allow for change and view it on a broader basis. We need to look at assessments and how they are affecting our seniors and first-time homebuyers. We can't drive our young people and middle class out of the county because they can't afford to live here. Reducing our property tax rate hasn't saved us anything because of rising assessments. Other costs are going up, like charging for adopting an animal.

Is the middle class being priced out of homeownership in Chesterfield?

Hart: Yes, they are. I have four children who are homeowners here, and my youngest just bought a house. She has a good job and a college degree, but she had to wait for awhile. Many citizens aren't as fortunate as she is. The proffer system has added $15,000 to each new home in Chesterfield. We need to look at affordable housing for our teachers, police officers and firefighters.

Jaeckle: The middle class is being priced out, but the market determines the price of homes. In the Roseland project, carriage homes will be built overtop of garages. Chesterfield is charging double proffers for those homes. The county needs to look at some of its policies, so it's not more difficult to provide affordable housing.

Should residential rezonings be denied if they are in an area where the roads are considered inadequate and the schools have more children than their capacities?

Jaeckle: We need to redo the comprehensive plan and identify what infrastructure we need at build-out. Since our annual budget is $1 billion a year, we need to plan for the $1 billion in road needs at build-out over 30 years. The comprehensive plan should only allow for the amount of growth that two-lane roads can carry.

Hart: Yes, but we haven't had the will to do that. We need a comprehensive plan that includes such things - how will we do that, how will we get there and how will it change our quality of life? Some of the infill areas would be best for affordable housing. We haven't made progress on our affordable housing plan that is required by the state.

Save Our Communities is a committee appointed by the board of supervisors to study aging communities. What is your specific plan to aid older neighborhoods in your district?

Hart: I have been an active volunteer for the Jeff Davis Association for more than a decade. We've brought in millions of dollars in new business, and we've rehabbed homes for a total revitalization program. We got the county to take notice of revitalization. You can't let communities deteriorate without great cost to the county. It costs us in taxes, crime and safety to provide those services.

Jaeckle: I initiated the topic of aging communities when I served on the Futures Committee back in the 1990s. When you build homes in new areas, the older neighborhoods get left behind. The committee wanted renovations for older schools along with building new schools, and that got us the renovation of Thomas Dale. One of the pluses of older areas is that the value of those homes goes up as new home prices increase.

Last year, the county said it needed $1 billion to catch up to its road needs. Where do you propose the funds come from?

Jaeckle: We need to go through our budget because we should have been putting aside funds for road needs. We should talk to the state because they keep 4 cents of our 5-cent sales tax, which is increasing because of our population increase. We can use CDAs because that has growth paying for itself. I hate to say it, [because] CDAs came from California, but we should look at all solutions.

Hart: We should press the state to live up to its responsibility. The board last year didn't even ask our legislative delegation to be an advocate for us and haven't created a wish list for anything we want. We have to push for our needs. The Transportation Summit last year recommended that a penny of the real estate tax rate be set aside for roads, but in the spring the board didn't have the will or courage to do that. Another way is to slow down growth.

How do you think the expansion of Fort Lee will affect Chesterfield County?

Hart: It will have a great effect on the county and this district. We need to be prepared with housing and schools, and that will further challenge us. Will we be ready with affordable housing?

Jaeckle: It's an opportunity for Chesterfield. We could get the new businesses and have the residents live elsewhere. I don't expect to get many new residents because affordable housing is more available in Prince George or Dinwiddie counties than in Chesterfield.

How would you rate the county's efforts to educate its citizens and allowing them input in the decision-making process?

Jaeckle: That's a difficult question because we citizens have to actively participate. It's up to the supervisors to make sure their citizens participate because they know how it will affect their districts. For example, there was not enough opportunity for community input on the Branner Station rezoning. A lot of people didn't know about the north-south or east-west roads. Mike Uzel put fliers out in mailboxes and had 120 people show up at the library for a meeting.

Hart: The county hasn't done a good enough job. The county and the supervisor has to bring together people in the larger community and not just notify adjacent property owners. We need to put forth a better effort because people don't always have the time or read the paper. When I've asked for a list of civic leaders from the county, there hasn't been one available. I think citizens should be treated with more respect at public meetings.

Economic development at the Meadowville Technology Park is being held back because there is no direct access to I-295. How do you propose to find funding for direct access to I-295?

Hart: We need to build up our tax base with more commercial development. While the board has said it is business-friendly, we have slipped back in the ratio of commercial to residential. Residents are paying about 81 percent, and Meadowville is an important part of our business growth. We should go to the state because they have a stake in it. We could tap into the Transportation Opportunity Fund that encourages economic development.

Jaeckle: I support the interchange. Economic development has not stressed the correct priority in road funding. We put in $20 million to widen Hull Street Road, which only accommodates residential development, while Bermuda District, with about half of the county's industrial development, hasn't seen improvements in the Route 10/Old Stage Road interchange. There hasn't been enough attention paid to Jeff Davis Highway with all our retail development.

Bermuda District candidate bios

Ree Hart

Career: Retired realtor and office manager

Background: Lifelong county resident; vice president of the Jeff erson Davis Association; chair of the Jeff erson Davison Association Redevelopment Committee; member of Virginia Business Incubation Association

Family: Married with four adult children

Dorothy Jaeckle

Background: Chester resident since 1985; served 12 years on Chesterfield Futures Committee; former vice president of Chesterfield County Council of PTAs; appointed by Gov. Jim Gilmore to the advisory council of the Virginia Business- Education Partnership

Family: Married with four children

Roy Wallace

Career: Retired railroad conductor

Background: Longtime county resident; Marine veteran, served as a sergeant in the Dominican Republic Intervention in 1965; Colonial Heights Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Volunteer Service Award recipient

Family: Married with three adult children