Taxing time: Orange County transitions real estate taxes to fiscal year
And a county-wide real estate assessment is underway, first since 2020
Deadline day for Orange County real estate taxes was Thursday (June 5). If you haven’t paid your bill, you’ll get dinged 10% for being late as of June 6. On July 1, interest on a late bill kicks in at 10% a year.
This go-’round for local property owners has been a little different: We are in an interim tax year because the county has aligned the tax and fiscal years. The current short “year” began January 1 and ends June 30. Henceforth, local property owners will still get two real estate tax bills per year, but the bill due in December will be the first of the fiscal year, rather than the second in the calendar year.
In response to Byrd Street’s inquiry about the interim tax bill, County Administrator Ted Voorhees explained, “This billing is based on prior assessed value [from 2020], so it should be the same value for property that you have been used to for five years unless you did some improvements that were picked up. This billing is also based on the existing tax rates set last year. Accordingly, the billing should not be an increase and should reflect one half of the real estate billing you saw last year.”
In other tax news, Orange County now has a Real Estate Assessment Department, which is busily conducting a county-wide assessment, the first in five years. New values will be reflected in the December 2025 tax bills. Oh, boy!
Republicans Hamilton and Jackson trade views at candidates’ forum
The two candidates for the District 62 Republican nomination for Virginia state delegate—Karen Hamilton of Orange and Clay Jackson of Madison County, both age 41—introduced themselves to the public during a forum on Thursday, May 29, at Lafayette Station in Rhoadesville. Audience members submitted questions to MC Ben Hazecamp, chair of the 7th Congressional District Republican Committee, who then posed the inquiries to the candidates.
Sponsored by several area Republican Party committees, the forum was well attended, according to Joe Loftus, who photographed the event for Byrd Street and estimated there were upwards of 75 people present.
In his account of the forum, Joe wrote, “Clay Jackson and Karen Hamilton are in agreement on all important matters. Their only differences arise in their perspectives. Both candidates are pro-life, both are pro-2A (Second Amendment), both are for a smaller, more efficient government, increased citizen participation and fiscal responsibility. Both candidates are strongly in favor of Virginia remaining a ‘right to work’ state and attracting businesses that are returning to the U.S. to escape the tariffs” that President Donald Trump has imposed.
Based on what he learned, Joe concluded that Hamilton “approaches issues as a parent, with strong faith and family values at her core,” while Jackson “comes across as an honest businessman/farmer” who brings experience on Madison County’s Planning Commission and its Board of Supervisors.
“It will be interesting to see how this plays out,” Joe said. Agreed!
Clay Jackson’s campaign website is here, and Karen Hamilton’s site is here.
Meanwhile, Sara Ratcliffe is the Democratic nominee
Sara Ratcliffe is unopposed in her bid for the Democratic nomination for state delegate in District 62, so there’s no primary candidates’ forum on her side of the aisle. In the interest of balanced coverage, I sent her several questions. After the primary Election Day on Tuesday, June 17, Byrd Street will seek full interviews with Ratcliffe and her Republican opponent.
Byrd Street: How is your campaign going so far?
Sara Ratcliffe: Happy to report that our campaign is being met with unprecedented enthusiasm, from donors and volunteers to voters looking for a strong candidate who can meet the vitriol and unlawful acts from Washington with compassion and commitment to help our rural community navigate through these troubled and chaotic times.
What kind of responses are you getting when you knock on doors?
People are tired of the nasty, mean, cruel name-calling and dog-whistle politics. They’re worried about the economy, they’re worried about our democracy, they want someone who will stand up for them, their families and our community.
What are the key tenets of your campaign?
My first priority is to give rural Virginia families a strong voice in the House of Delegates. We need to focus on all the things to help our families get ahead—more job opportunities, quality schools, lower costs and the ability to make our own decisions without government or politicians interfering in our private lives.
Sara Ratcliffe’s campaign website is here.
Sample ballots for Democratic and Republican primaries
Tuesday, June 17, is Primary Election Day, but you can still vote early in Orange County. Virginia has an open primary, which means that you can choose which primary you want to vote in. If you vote in the Democratic primary, here is your sample ballot, which includes Democratic candidates for lieutenant governor and attorney general. If you live in District 62 and vote in the Republican primary, here is your sample ballot.
Letter to the Editor from James Collins
“With more houses, the county must provide more services, and providing more services means higher taxes”
The Orange County Board of Supervisors, the Planning Commission and the Planning staff have been revising the county’s Zoning Ordinance. The treatment of agricultural land has emerged as perhaps the most difficult issue for the revision. Right now, land zoned agricultural in Orange can be divided into an unlimited number of two-acre lots, with two houses per lot. Someone can put scores of houses on a hundred-acre farm.
Our neighbors treat agricultural land differently. Louisa allows seven divisions. Culpeper allows three divisions every five years. Madison allows four divisions every ten years.
Orange’s radically permissive policy allows for unbridled residential development. This is problematic, for with more houses, the county must provide more services, and providing more services means higher taxes.
The property taxes paid by new households do not offset the increased cost of services. In studies of more than 200 localities, the cost of services to households was found to exceed the revenue from residential property tax.
Take Orange: The typical new home here brings in about $2,000 in property tax. But, putting aside other services, just one child in school costs the county over $5,000 a year.
Localities do make money on farms, according to the studies. Why would the county trade profits for losses? That’s what happens when farmland is developed.
The revision of the Zoning Ordinance must include a stricter policy toward agricultural land. Otherwise, taxes in Orange are set to go higher and higher.
James Collins, Somerset
Editor’s note: The Orange County Board of Supervisors will discuss the Zoning Ordinance at its work session at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, June 10, at the Orange County Public Safety Building. The board’s regular meeting will follow at 5 p.m.
Letter to the Editor from Frank S. Walker Jr.
“While free, open water flows toward the ocean, contained and directed water flows toward money”
Thank you for publishing my earlier letter, stating generally my concerns about a growing shortage of available water in the Rappahannock River basin. I have also prepared a dialogue summary of supporting facts titled "A Water Story." [Editor’s note: Part 1 is printed below.]
It appears that, to date, the public has not focused on the fact that a water shortage will affect existing residences, not just proposed new development. When your new neighbor drills his well, and yours goes dry, it’s reality time. Our leaders need to be preparing to react. Keep in mind that while free, open water flows toward the ocean, contained and directed water flows toward money. Whatever is decided upon will not be cheap. The only thing that would be more expensive is to do nothing.
Frank S. Walker Jr., Orange
A Water Story (part 1) by Frank S. Walker Jr.
A couple of evenings ago, I was out walking our dog Ginger on the road through our neighborhood. We had stepped off the hard surface into a small open field, and Ginger had settled down to rest and sample the smells wafting by. A vehicle slowly rolled to a stop behind us, and I turned to see the outline of a small pickup truck. While my poor vision would not allow me to see who was in its cab, I was soon addressed by the voice of someone I would sense to be an elderly male. As I can best recall, the conversation went something like this.
Stranger: I’m looking for Frank Walker’s house.
Unless you really need to see the house, you’ve got what’s left of Frank Walker right here.
Stranger: I’m going to pull over. We need to talk.
He pulled off the road and remained seated in the truck. Ginger and I came up alongside. In the twilight, I could make out a baseball cap, dark-framed glasses, and a white beard, but that was it.
Stranger: My name is Reliable Source, and I want to talk with you about your letter to the editor of that e-newspaper saying this region likely has water supply issues. I’m particularly concerned about the Rapidan River. I’ve lived near it all my life, and I don’t like what I see happening.
Relia—wait! Are you the person a Richmond newspaper writer used to interview for his articles on Virginia politics?
Reliable Source (RS): That was my dad. He used to love talking Virginia politics. I’m interested in other things, such as the Rapidan River. I don’t like what I’m seeing.
Me, either. Over the years, it has slowly declined from a small scenic Piedmont Virginia river to more of a storm water drain. The major transition events seem to be the huge floods of 1995 and ‘96.
RS: Right. I recall T. O. Gillum of the Madison Mills store saying that after those floods, the Rapidan began rising and falling more quickly in response to thunderstorms. He said those floods scoured out the river channel.
And it doesn’t help to have an ever-increasing number of rooftops and paved areas quickly unloading storm water into the Rapidan’s tributaries.
RS: A good example of that is Baylor Run, the stream that flows under the Silk Mill building in Orange. I always check its flow whenever I cross it on the Spicer’s Mill Road bridge at the edge of town. When we have a thunderstorm now, that stream can get out of its banks in a matter of minutes. A day or so later, it can be almost dry.
[To be continued in the next issue of Byrd Street.]
A resident of Orange, Frank Walker is a civic leader, author and historian of all things Orange County. His publications include the book “Remembering: A History of Orange County, Virginia,” published by the Orange County Historical Society.
Citizens Police Academy graduates its 22nd class
The 22nd edition of Orange County’s Citizens Police Academy (CPA) wrapped up on Monday evening (June 2) with a festive graduation dinner and ceremony at the Orange County Public Safety Building. Captain Bryan Seal, who directed the CPA, served as MC, and Orange County Sheriff Jason Smith gave a welcoming address. Seal and Smith led a special round of applause for Sarah Altman, records clerk and crime analyst, who handles the CPA’s behind-the-scenes logistics every year.
The guest speaker was Orange County Supervisor Bryan Nicol (District 5), whose wife, Traci Nicol, completed the course last year. He told the audience, which included the 16 graduates, some family and friends, and a sprinkling of CPA alumni, that the Board of Supervisors has allocated funds for four new patrol deputies—fewer than what the Sheriff’s Office had requested, but “a good first step” toward filling a gap in county law enforcement.
Commending Sheriff Smith, Nicol said, “He hires the best and holds them to high expectations. They also have fun, which is pretty cool.” He described the county’s deputies as “approachable and accessible” and added that they have “the right equipment, the right attitude and the right leader.”
Every year, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office hosts the CPA for area residents who want to learn about patrol duty, detective work and many other facets of local law enforcement. For 10 weeks, the group meets weekly for three-hour evening classes and goes on field trips to the Central Virginia Regional Jail and the Orange County Courthouse. Participants can also spend a Saturday morning practicing their marksmanship at the county shooting range under the close supervision of Orange County deputies.
As the evening wound down, the new grads told Captain Seal and Sheriff Smith how much they appreciated the CPA. Virginia Stanley of Orange said, “I don’t know when I’ve had a class that I’ve enjoyed more.” Because she typically goes to bed early, she’d wondered whether she could stay awake during the evening sessions. But week after week, the course held her interest. To a chorus of laughter, she exclaimed, “I never wanted to sleep through one class!”
And now, June
May certainly delivered in the rain department. Last Friday, with the month not quite ended, the Northern Piedmont Research Center had recorded nearly twice (!) the historic average rainfall for May. Now we’re starting to get some hot weather, though nothing unbearable yet. Keep your sunblock-protected fingers crossed that we’re spared the drought conditions that made last summer so hard.
Byrd Street flower report: Roses aplenty, annuals revving up. And all the yucca plants blooming so prettily.
Obituaries
Geraldine Lam Dulin, 93, of Locust Grove; Henry Hyatt Harper Jr., 87, Gordonsville; Dennis Allen Campau, 74, Locust Grove; Patricia Ann Rogers, 78, Barboursville; Nancy Gibbs Foster, 86, formerly of Orange County; Charles Weldon Haynes, 80, Orange.
Coming up soon
2025 Orange Fireman’s Fair & Parade, 205 Caroline St., continuing through Saturday, June 7
Orange Uncorked Wine Festival, James Madison’s Montpelier, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, June 7-Sunday, June 8
Public meeting concerning the Rapidan Fish Passage Project (and planned removal of the Rapidan River dam in Rapidan), hosted by American Climate Partners, Orange County High School, 6-9 p.m., Tuesday, June 17
Juneteenth, free community celebration sponsored by the Orange County African American Historical Society, African American Commemorative Park (corner of Church and Chapman streets), Orange, 12-2 p.m., Thursday, June 19
Rapidan Chamber Players, The Music Room, 135 E. Main St., Orange, 2 p.m., Saturday, June 21
Orange County Fair, Wednesday, June 25-Saturday, June 28
Recent back issues
Playing (un)fair: Karen Hamilton campaign signs violate county policy (May 21)