Collegiate Times

Correction: This story has been modified from its original version. — Blacksburg has cut the town's printed calendar -- it's available online only --and has reduced the frequency of its brush collection. The Collegiate Times regrets this error.

Blacksburg Town Council approved the budget for 2009-10 fiscal year Tuesday, but not before making amendments in an attempt to lessen the blow on restaurants.

Establishments in Blacksburg currently receive a 6 percent waiver on meals tax collection, and a 3 percent waiver on lodging taxes. The original proposal decreased both waivers to 2 percent.

Public sentiments expressed at Tuesday's meeting and town council work sessions led to an amendment to the budget allowing restaurants a 3 percent waiver.

Some worried that with the decreasing waiver, restaurants would struggle to make ends meet with a diminishing restaurant patronage in Blacksburg

"This budget cut has been the most painful to me," said vice-mayor Leslie Hager-Smith. "Meal tax is critically important to this town."

Last year the meal tax waiver was increased from 5 percent to 6 percent in order to bring improvements to the downtown and officer additions to the police department. The 6 percent meal tax, although on par with Christiansburg, is high for the state of Virginia, Sherman said, making it an easy target to provide extra revenue to Blacksburg.

"The cuts and the shifting priorities do hurt," said council member Tom Sherman. "We'll have less public services, and no doubt the restaurants will suffer."

This meal tax cut came as a direct result of a $600,000 shortfall. Members agreed this was a smart area to retain some of the lost revenue.

This ordinance increases the tax received to 3 percent, providing some extra financial support to Blacksburg restaurants. Blacksburg will experience fewer public services and obvious restaurant business declines as a result of diminishing business.

Sherman stated that Blacksburg already has shown this by the loss of popular restaurants such as Pee Wee's Barbeque, Crumb & Get It, as well as a new establishment up for sale, The Daily Grind.

"Nobody is happy with these cuts," Sherman said. "They don't need to be cut but increased. But we have less income than last year, and the budget has to be balanced."

In order to compensate, council member Don Langrehr urged the public to keep the its money within the town and to spend money exclusively in Blacksburg .

"Stay off the bypass and go to the restaurants off Main Street," Langrehr said.

When you take your dollars outside of town, Langrehr said, you're shorting the business of Blacksburg.

Council members stressed that if the town of Blacksburg's money is spent within the town, businesses will thrive and restaurants in particular will not feel as much of a burden from the meal tax waiver cut.

"I have never had a meal outside of this town. I challenge all of you to keep your money within the town," said council member Mike Rosenweig.

The town's overall budget will decrease by over 24 percent. Other budget cuts involved eliminating the town calendar's printed edition -- providing an online-only version -- as well as making brush collection a semi-annual service as opposed to a bi-monthly service.