taxes and inflation

https://www.nvdaily.com/nvdaily/strasburg-council-to-advertise-4-5-cent-tax-hike/article_0ef5a848-8868-590b-b972-ba9e4735c3d9.html 

In 2022 real estate taxes went up a whopping 22%. 

https://strasburgunderground.blogspot.com/2022/05/figures-dont-lie-but-liars-figure.html 

The town is advertising a 29% increase as part of its effort to balance the fiscal year 2026 budget.

Talk about inflation! 

Hey, town council, have you ever considered reducing spending? Have you ever considered the council's reckless spending--e.g. buying the vacated bank building before evaluating the cost of renovating said building? and failing to address the need for two entrances and the high pressure gas pipelines that run through the business park property? like running up a half million dollar deficit? like ignoring the needed $1.4 million capital improvements program? 

https://strasburgunderground.blogspot.com/2025/02/voice-of-reason.html

If we ran our households like you run the town we would lave been bankrupt a LONG time ago. 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/92269745@N00/6331925743/

attribution: Ralph Daily and flickr

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

more nonsense from town hall

https://www.nvdaily.com/nvdaily/strasburg-residents-responsible-for-clearing-sidewalks-after-snowfall/article_16ef5e3c-dcf0-5011-bdda-41dac549d01e.html 

The snow removal ordinance says that business owners and residents must clear sidewalks after it snows.

"The law also prohibits residents from shoveling snow onto sidewalks or streets, ensuring that cleared pathways remain usable."

Take a walk along King Street. Go south from Massanutten Street. Sidewalks in front of many buildings have NO space between the building and the sidewalk and NO space between the sidewalk and the street. 

Town council, what are business owners supposed to do with the snow that they shovel from the sidewalk? Eat it?

C'mon, town council! Look before you leap!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/tomwachtel/9677680029/

attribution: Tom Wachtel and flickr

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/

SHOCKING!

https://www.nvdaily.com/nvdaily/strasburg-planners-defer-stover-avenue-apartment-decision-amid-flooding-preservation-concerns/article_d54dcc32-f87a-5e36-a3dd-bf5118b9905f.html

Here's the shocking part... It's not that the sewer is overflowing. It's that the town hasn't fixed this problem. It's simple physics--more specifically, hydraulics and fluid mechanics. 

Potential energy is mechanical energy acquired by an object due to its position. It's stored energy that depends upon the relative position of the object and a reference point or level. Potential energy can be converted into kinetic energy and vice versa. 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mt_Bold_Reservoir_Dam.JPG

attribution: Diceman, via Wikimedia Commons

CC BY-SA 3.0

The potential energy of impounded water at the top of this dam is enough to drive turbines to create electrical energy. When the water is released at the bottom of the dam the potential energy has been spent.

Consider Niagara Falls.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Niagara_falls_maid_of_the_mist.jpg

attribution: Eheik via wikipedia 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain

The potential energy of the relatively slow moving water at the top is released at the bottom of the falls when it crashes into the rock bottom.

Sometimes bolted manhole covers are used to keep sewer lines containing sanitary sewage from overflowing. However, this can result in sanitary sewage popping up somewhere else--like in someone's basement or someones' basements. 

Besides damage to property, needless to say, there are serious health hazards for people who are exposed to raw sewage. 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cholera_rehydration_nurses.jpg

attribution: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Also needless to say, it's up to the town to fix serious problems with its public utility lines.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/sokwanele/3093242062/

attribution: Sokwanele - Zimbabwe

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/

voice of reason

https://www.nvdaily.com/nvdaily/strasburg-council-explores-housing-moratorium-amid-rapid-growth-concerns/article_dc190015-3faf-5fc9-9f72-9b6fb91475ea.html

Thank you, Jonathan Price. Finally, a voice of reason comes to town council.

Thank you, Northern Virginia Daily, for covering this.

"... $500,000 deficit in the general fund and $1.4 million in capital improvement plan (CFP) requests."

Town council, what are you doing? is this what you consider to be good stewardship? spending on signs and flower baskets? the time for ACTION is WAY overdue.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/timevanson/6239092252

attribution: Tim Evanson and flickr

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Thank you, Tim Evanson, for your photograph and for sharing it with the public. And, thank you for the story of Adolph Weinman's statue. And, thank you, flickr and google blogger.