UPDATED: No Tax Increases for Clifton Forge Residents By Judy Moffitt Clark   Clifton Forge, VA (May 11, 2021) - Clifton Forge Town Council held a public hearing Tuesday night for the 2021-22 fiscal year budget, with no proposed increases in real estate or personal property taxes, or water and sewer fees. A called meeting to adopt the $6.1 million budget will be held May 25. Real estate taxes remain at 26 cents per $100 of assessed value, while personal property and machinery and tools taxes stay at $3.65 per $100 of assessed value. The monthly fee for residential water and sewer service remains at $111 for 5,000 gallons or less. Also included in the budget is a 2 percent pay increase for town employees. In another action, council approved a new paid holiday for town employees on June 19th – also known as Juneteenth or Jubilee - to observe the emancipation of enslaved people. Council members and Town Manager Chuck Unroe thanked Finance Director LeeAnna Tyler and her department for their work on the budget, especially considering the challenging year of the COVID-19 pandemic. In other business, council spent several minutes debating whether or not to resume in-person meetings by the next regularly scheduled meeting June 8. Council has been meeting via teleconference or Zoom since last spring. Council voted 4-1, with Mayor Pam Marshall being the only “no” vote, to meet in person next month. Marshall said she voted against the motion because no one knows yet what restrictions might still be in place by then. The governor is scheduled to announce what restrictions will be lifted by June 15. Council likely will revisit the matter again during their called meeting on May 25, but the plan is to meet in person June 8 as long as it’s safe to do so, explained Unroe. During council comments, Council member Bob Umstead addressed an issue concerning the impending merger of the Alleghany County and Covington school systems. “We have a school merger taking place and we have no representation east of Island Ford bridge,” on the school merger committee, he said, adding that he was afraid that Clifton Forge – and other communities in east Alleghany County, like Iron Gate, Selma and Sharon - could be pushed out on the newly merged school board. He said he believed that Clifton Forge council should make sure that the town is represented. During Town Manager remarks, Unroe noted that the town will be receiving bids to repair a sinkhole in front of the BB&T bank building on Main St. and that he believes the project can start by late May. At the request of council member Shorty Wolfe, Unroe said he would ask the engineers what could be done to make the area safer for drivers. Unroe reported that skate park was recently vandalized, and the public works department is working to clean it up, and that plans are still underway for a dog park. Unroe also noted that Michael Hayslett has indicated an interest in revitalizing the Parks and Trails Committee, and council members Ron Goings and Shorty Wolfe agreed to assist. The July 4th Stars and Stripes celebration will be held in downtown Clifton Forge, culminating in fireworks that evening at the C&O Heritage Center. Earlier in the meeting, Clifton Forge Main St. received approval for the resumption of the Downtown Market on Thursdays, from 3:30 to 6:30 pm, from June 3 through September 10, on a section of Commercial Ave. The group asked for and received an additional market day on July 4, from 9:30 am to 2 pm, in front of the Masonic Theatre. Mayor Pam Marshall, who was reappointed to represent the town on the Roanoke Valley Alleghany Regional Commission, noted during her comments that Upper Cuts, a beauty salon that was renting a building from the town, has relocated to the corner of Commercial and Pine Streets. She thanked everyone who participated in the town curb appeal clean-up last month, and she also thanked local law enforcement and the FBI for their successful resolution of a child abduction. Pam Irvine, pastor of Solid Rock Ministries, gave the invocation.

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