Nohe, O’Meara talk taxes, and why Route 28 stinks

Paul O’Meara talked about lowering the tax burden for Prince William County residents.

His incumbent opponent Marty Nohe talked about the importance of spending county tax dollars on the things residents want in their community.

Both men seek to represent the Coles District on the Prince William County Board of Supervisors. It’s a magisterial district that includes an area of Prince William County from Hoadly Road near Woodbridge to Route 28 outside Manassas. Republican voters are urged to vote in a firehouse primary Saturday, April 25 to decide who will move on to run in the November General Election.

Omeara took several shots at Nohe on taxes. He faulted him for not voting back in December for a plan that directed county officials to develop a budget based on a 1.3% tax increase, not 4% as was agreed upon about a year earlier.

“The true conservatives on the on the Board opted to vote for a lower rate,” said O’Meara. “We have to start somewhere and 1.3% is a good place to start.”

>> See full video of debate after the jump

Nohe defended his vote and said that he spoke with Prince William school officials a week prior to his vote who asked the Board of Supervisors for some consistency with the budget, and to keep in place promised tax increase.

“We have hard working teachers and a hard working school board, and to turn around and say to them, a week after we said we wouldn’t reduce the revenues they were expecting, and turn around and do that exact thing, I thought that was intellectually dishonest and deeply unfair,” said Nohe.

On transportation, traffic congestion on Route 28 between Liberia Avenue in Manassas and the Fairfax Count line continues to be an issue. Nohe spoke of the trouble of finding some $2 million at the state level to widen the road.

“Route 28 is the red-headed step child that no one wanted to talk about,” said Nohe.

As the Coles District Supervisor, and as head of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, which doles out cash for area road and transit improvement projects, Nohe said he’ll make improving Route 28 a priority.

O’Meara says more housing developments, some he said were approved as late as 2006, is what leading to the congestion on the road.

“This isn’t about Marty Nohe. This is about making our community a better place to live. Our transportation problems are east to west, not north to the south. Our roads should be built to alleviate traffic congestion…. [money] shouldn’t be spent to open up vacant corridors to new housing,” said O’Meara.

Both men praised the work of the volunteers at the Coles District Fire Station. The Prince William County Fire and Rescue Department took over the full time operation of the station last year as volunteers are becoming more difficult to recruit.

“In the general area around the firehouse, in the Woodbine Woods area, the demographics are no longer made up of 24-year-olds that want to run into a burning building,” said Nohe.

Both men also touted the need and importance of the county’s public libraries, especially a neighborhood library at Independent Hill.

O’Meara called for more obtaining more library funding from housing developer proffers.

“You look at surveys and libraries are one of the most used services in the county…we have to hold developers accountable,” said O’Meara.

The debate was held April 11 at the Dar AlNoor Islamic Community Center on Hoadly Road. It was co-sponsored by the Coles District Civic Association and Potomac Local.

It was one of two debates held Saturday. Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chairman, At-large Corey Stewart also faced his primary opponent Chris Crawford.