Not so fast

Leading up to the board of supervisors’ election in November, there was a lot of talk about the need to make Fauquier friendlier to business.

Before rolling out the red carpet, it might be a good idea to look at Fauquier County’s unusual tax base.

These are some of Fauquier’s assets, not enjoyed by many other counties:

• Two railroads, two natural gas pipelines and two “peaking” power plants that bring in more than $6 million a year in taxes.

• A thriving agricultural industry that has kept Fauquier in the top 10 of Virginia’s 98 counties, in spite of the fact that the county’s population has gone from 26,000 to about 66,000 in the past 50 years. Fauquier dairies rank 5th; its horse industry is worth $54 million; it produces enough cattle to feed nearly 550,000 people a year; its agriculture creates more than 3,500 jobs.

• Its 1,222 farm that pay more in taxes than they cost in services, of which about 300 have large buildings that are highly taxed, but like businesses, do not contribute to the county’s public school population and are, therefore, almost 100 percent tax positive.

• At least five private schools that educate hundreds of children who might otherwise need more county schools.

• Five registered fox hunts that make Fauquier the fox-hunting capital of the U.S. provide many jobs, help support many businesses and keep land open and prices up.

• More land under conservation easements than any other county in the state, which will provide a tax positive income in perpetuity.

• Tourist attractions that include a number of Civil War battlefields and other historic sites, the oldest hunter show, the oldest colt show and the oldest pony show in America, two major steeplechase events, four annual point-to-point race meets, Historic Garden Week, which attracts tourists from all over the world, and, last but certainly not least, sensational views of the Blue Ridge, the Bull Run, the Pignut, the Rappahannock and the Watery mountains, which bring bicyclists down from Washington in droves.

Loudoun County spent about $100,000 a year in its quest for “a broader tax base.” What it got was WorldCom and 200,000 people. The 2011 Loudoun tax rate is $1.285. Fauquier’s is $0.97.

The last time I looked at the Fauquier Chamber of Commerce brochure, there were about 500 listings, so it can’t be all that difficult to locate a business here. All of which might lead one to think that, unlike most other counties, Fauquier can enjoy the luxury of being somewhat selective and need not go out and beat the bushes to lure economic development with tax incentives and other inducements.

Let’s make sure we don’t fix it if it isn’t broken.

Hope Porter

Warrenton