Delegate Keith Hodges debates candidate Sheila Crowley in the race for the delegates seat of the 98th district here in Virginia. Keith Hodges is the present seated candidate here in the 98th district and is a Republican. Sheila Crowley is the Democratic challenger for that seat. This debate happened in Gloucester County, Virginia at the Moose Lodge along route 17 North. Watch the video and then cast your vote on November 7th, 2017 for the candidate you think will serve the 98th district the best.
Defending The Republic, Not some Democracy, and enjoying some of life's rewards along the way.
Friday, October 27, 2017
Delegate Keith Hodges Debates Sheila Crowley For The 98th District
Delegate Keith Hodges debates candidate Sheila Crowley in the race for the delegates seat of the 98th district here in Virginia. Keith Hodges is the present seated candidate here in the 98th district and is a Republican. Sheila Crowley is the Democratic challenger for that seat. This debate happened in Gloucester County, Virginia at the Moose Lodge along route 17 North. Watch the video and then cast your vote on November 7th, 2017 for the candidate you think will serve the 98th district the best.
Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Second 2017 Gloucester County, Virginia Election Forum Video (Brought to you by GVLN)
Meet the candidates of
2017 for seats on the Board of Supervisors and School Board. Held at the
Lighthouse Worship Center on Route 17, Gloucester County, Virginia. Forum was
held on October 23, 2017. Gloucester Virginia Links and News (GVLN) brings you
this video. This meeting was produced by the Gloucester Citizens for Accountable Government.
Monday, October 23, 2017
Are Gloucester County’s Real Estate Tax Assessments Corrupt? You Decide
During the
candidate forum, current board members mocked at Mr. Farmer’s assertion that
increases in certain real estate assessment values is how they have avoided
increasing real estate tax rates each year. In Mr. Farmer’s defense, the
County, through certain assessment value increases, increased revenue from real
estate property taxes by $3 million since 2012.
I became
even more skeptical of Gloucester’s assessments in 2016 when the Board of
Supervisors approved a land swap deal with Gloucester resident Charles Kerns,
Jr.; in which the County traded two pieces of property for one of Mr. Kerns’
properties. When the deal was first presented to the Board of Supervisors, then
Chairperson John Meyer publicly asked, “Is the concept of swapping properties
the way the County wants to do business?” He then said, “Sounds like it has the
potential for a win win.” As it turns out, Supervisor Meyer had a stake in the
land swap deal, in that the entrance to his personal estate shares a property line
with the piece of land Mr. Kerns traded to the County.
During that time,
I was an appointed At-Large member of the Gloucester Public Utilities Advisory
Committee. Once I reviewed the seven properties contained in the land swap
proposal, I discovered serious flaws in the assessment values of the three key
properties contained in the deal. I pointed the flaws out to the Board and an
independent appraiser was hired by the County to determine the value of the
properties.
When the Board approved the land swap deal, their decision was based on the independent
appraisal values. The combined value of the County’s two properties at that
time was $35,000 and Mr. Kerns’ property was valued at $45,000. The combined
assessment values of the County’s two former properties after the deal changed
to $70,180 and the value of Mr. Kerns' former property changed to $41,780. At
the time the deal was approved, Mr. Kerns’ property was determined to be worth
$10,000 more than the property he received from the County. Within days of the
deal being made, the property Mr. Kerns received from the County was assessed
by the County to be worth $28,400 more than the property he unloaded on the County.
Not wanting to be associated with corruption, I resigned from the Utilities Advisory Committee immediately after the Board
approved the corrupt land swap deal.
The land
swap deal story did not end there. Three months after the Board approved the
deal, the Gloucester Mathews Gazette Journal listed one of Mr. Kerns new
properties as being sold for $55,000. According to online property records; Mr.
Kerns sold it to the property owner who has lived right next door to the
property since 1998. Why didn’t the Board offer the property to the adjacent
landowners before trading it to Mr. Kerns? Even Mr. Kerns’ offered to sell his
property to Supervisor Meyer before offering it to the County. Something tells
me the new owner would have preferred to buy the property for the $30,000
independent appraisal value; saving $25,000.
One can’t
help but wonder if the whole corrupt land swap deal was perpetrated to keep
anything from being built at the entrance to Supervisors Meyer’s and Mr. Kerns’
estates. One can easily assume the recent paving of the entrance of Summerville
Road to the end of Mr. Meyer’s property line was funded with money from the
land sold by Mr. Kerns. One could also easily assume this was done to move the
entrance to Mr. Meyer’s estate so it is easier to find by his Airbnb customers.
Despite whether or not these assumptions are correct, one fact remains; manipulation
of the assessment values is clearly evident and is nothing short of government
corruption. This deal needs to be investigated and those found guilty of
corruption and conspiracy to commit corruption need to be held accountable.
Below we
have provided a listing of randomly selected waterfront properties in four
different areas of Gloucester County. Notice how the smaller the property is,
the higher the assessed value per acre is. We have also provided a Slideshare presentation of Frequently Asked Questions about real estate tax assessments.
Email comments to: Kennysr61@gmail.com
To read a detailed account of the
corrupt land swap deal click on this link: http://www.gloucestercounty-va.com/2017/03/gloucester-county-va-real-estate-tax_50.html
Waterfront Property Heywood Creek
Area
RPC Acres Assessed Per Acre
34244 1.39 $209,110 $150,439
13952 1.46 $260,770 $178,609
30791 1.48 $208,560 $140,919
43160 1.51 $145,940 $96,649
26229 2.53 $222,950 $88,123
10669 2.67 $243,790 $91,307
30679 3.43 $280,310 $81,723
13369 9.33 $364,960 $39,117
33757 12.6 $404,020 $32,065
31355 170.476 $636,730 $3,735
Bena Area
RPC Acres Assessed Per Acre
28739 1 $225,000 $225,000
21922 1.25 $233,200 $186,560
19725 2.88 $201,090 $78,955
27404 5.25 $296,720 $56,254
40850 6.39 $342,070 $53,532
27619 6.46 $817,360 $126,526
21425 9.3 $365,060 $39,254
21951 13.11 $402,110 $30,672
41567 13.54 $346,810 $25,540
14341 58.35 $1,190,730 $20,406
Ware Neck Area
RPC Acres Assessed Per Acre
16800 0.75 $211,490 $281,987
21047 0.96 $222,850 $232,135
22199 1.44 $256,780 $178,319
16984 1.88 $239,750 $127,527
10396 2.01 $233,520 $116,179
23437 2.36 $236,480 $117,652
22617 5.02 $340,480 $67,825
43034 6.9 $417,910 $60,567
18864 7.39 $209,550 $28,356
31023 342.57 $1,510,140 $4,408
Gloucester Point Area
RPC Acres Assessed Per Acre
34254 0.296 $131,440 $444,054
29005 0.361 $145,470 $402,963
30469 0.52 $178,910 $344,058
18220 0.6 $189,900 $316,500
12063 0.93 $221,220 $237,871
30104 1.23 $258,690 $210,317
29202 1.49 $263,000 $176,510
33908 2.49 $482,670 $193,843
15105 3.58 $246,770 $68,930
22581 17.49 $534,910 $30,584
Slideshare presentation
of frequently asked question about real estate tax assessments. (Compiled by Albemarle
County, Virginia)
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