Martinsville, VA likely reverting from city to town for economics

(The Center Square) – The city of Martinsville in Virginia is on its way to revert into a town within Henry County to prevent the duplication of services and ensure more economic efficiency, according to city officials.

The city council in Martinsville, which is home to more than 12,500 Virginians, approved a formal agreement with the Henry County Board of Supervisors to become a town within the county, rather than an independent city outside of a county. In Virginia, cities do not operate underneath counties, but rather function similar to a county government.

Mayor Kathy Lawson told The Center Square the main reason for this decision was economics.

“There’s so much duplication of services in our community,” Lawson said. “Running two separate school systems and duplications on constitutional offices are the ones that people most often think of. We, in the city, operate a very well run and very frugally run city but there’s never enough funding. And year after year, capital needs are put to the side because there’s only so much revenue to allocate.”

If Martinsville becomes part of Henry County, the city will consolidate its public schools and its taxes with the county. Some services will still remain under town control. This includes the police department, fire department and emergency services. It will also control public works, such as water, sewer, garbage trucks, electricity and internet.

Reverting into a town, Lawson said, would bring continuity of being one community.

“Some folks talk about short term ‘issues’ without looking past ‘right now,’ she added. “These items are short term problems that can be solved but an efficiently run school system and local government can only benefit our taxpayers/citizens. This will enable us to meet the economic challenges of tomorrow and provide the best possible education to our students. All citizens will benefit from eliminating expenses by merging the constitutional offices.”

The public school consolidation would eliminate all positions within the city schools and the reversion would also eliminate 80 other city jobs.

Before the reversion can be finalized, both the city and the will hold public hearings for the residents, but a date has not yet been scheduled. The agreement will also need to be approved by a panel of three judges.

Disclaimer: This content is distributed by The Center Square