Summary: The Jarratt town government is still intent on placing a 100% markup on weekly trash pickup by taking the service down from two (2) times a week to only one (1) time a week. This article peels back the averages per house worth people may be paying in taxes, as well as how much per week people are paying for trash pickup services, in a total of six (6) towns - including Jarratt, VA.
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Numbers truly do not lie, ladies and gentlemen - and here's how truthful that can actually be in real time:
Real estate and personal property taxes are at an x-cost of per $100 of physical worth.
We looked at five (5) different towns (other than Jarratt) in the Commonwealth of Virginia that still have trash pickup two (2) times a week in the last post - but we also looked at all six (6) towns' tax base. Let's look at that again, but simply from the real estate side of things.
These are from 2023 [PDF].
- JARRATT, VA:
-- Real Estate, $o.14 - Blackstone, VA:
-- Real Estate, $o.22 (.08 higher than Jarratt) - Crewe, VA:
-- Real Estate, $o.30 (.16 higher than Jarratt) - Boydton, VA:
-- Real Estate, $o.33 (.19 higher than Jarratt) - Urbanna, VA:
-- Real Estate, $o.21 (.07 higher than Jarratt) - Tappahannock, VA:
-- Real Estate, $o.09 (.05 lower than Jarratt)
Real estate is something that any J. Q. Public citizen has the ability to view without issue - personal property is completely different.
Jarratt, VA, has median house worth of $185,000 - looking back at the chart of cities and towns we've created, there are 271 households; that said, each house for said households would then pay an average of $259 in taxes for each house, and the land upon which it sits, annually.
With a two (2) day per week trash pickup schedule for each of these houses, cost per day per household is roughly $2.50 to have the trash truck stop by and provide such a service - $5 each week.
Obviously, changing the trash route to one (1) time per week will still cost $5 per week, but the service provided will be cut in half. That is now a 100% markup on half of the original services. That is also extremely easy math, but a few members of Jarratt Council seem to not have passed that portion of their economics lessons.
Even though four (4) of the other five (5) towns have utility fees to pay for trash pickup, here's a different way of looking at a flat fee:
- Blackstone: At $17.25/mo through utilities, it breaks down to roughly $4.32 each week. Going the long way around, $17.25 x 12 months equals $207 annually - becoming $1.99 per trash pickup day x 2 times a week equaling $3.98 average.
On taxes, average median house worth is $249,500 - with real estate tax at o.22, each of the 1,310 households pay an average of $549.oo annually to the towne - $719,190 + $271,170 in utilities for trash pickup = $990,360 goes into the town coffer annually from these households.
These households then also pay an average of $1,198 annually to Nottoway County (o.48, [PDF]) - $1,568,856.
The 1,310 households of Blackstone, VA, annually pay a total of $2,288,046 in real estate taxes to the town and the county combined if the median house worth is correct. - Crewe: At $32.oo/mo through utilities, it breaks down to roughly $8 each week. Going the long way around, $32 x 12 months equals $384 annually - becoming $3.69 per trash pickup day x 2 times a week equaling $7.39 average.
On taxes, average median house worth is $352,000 - with real estate tax at o.30, each of the 1,098 households pay an average of $1,056.oo annually to the town - $1,159,488 + $421,632 in utilities for trash pickup = $1,581,120 go into the town coffer annually from these households.
They then also pay an average of $1,690 to Nottoway County (o.48, [PDF]) - $1,855,620.
The 1,098 households of Crewe, VA, annually pay a rough average of $3,015,108 in real estate taxes to the town and the county combined if the median house worth is correct. - Boydton: At $12.oo/mo through utilities, it breaks down to roughly $3 each week. Going the long way around, $12 x 12 months equals $144 annually - becoming $1.39 per trash pickup day x 2 times a week equaling $2.78 average.
On taxes, average median house worth is $330,000 - with real estate tax at o.33, each of the 123 households pay an average of $1,089.oo annually to the town - $133,947 + $17,712 in utilities for trash pickup = $151,659 goes into the town coffer annually from these households.
They then also pay an average of $1,320 to Mecklenburg County (o.40, [PDF]) - $162,360.
The 123 households of Boydton, VA, annually pay a rough average of $296,307 in real estate taxes to the town and the county combined if the given median house worth is correct. - Tappahannock: At $24.oo/every other month through utilities (to make it simple, $12/mo) we're following the exact same example as Boydton: it breaks down to roughly $3 each week. Going the long way around, $24 x 6 months equals $144 annually - becoming $1.39 per trash pickup day x 2 times a week equaling $2.78 average.
On taxes, average median house worth is $362,000 - with real estate tax at o.o9, each of the 997 households pay an average of $326 annually to the town - $325,022, plus $143,424 in utilities for trash pickup = $468,446 goes into the town coffers annually from these households.
They then also pay an average of $2,643 to Essex County (o.73, [PDF]) - $2,635,071.
The 997 households in Tappahannock, VA, annually pay a rough average total of $2,960,093 in real estate taxes to the town and the county combined, if the given median house worth is correct.
What about Urbanna, VA? There's a bit of an issue with that one - though it is a rather small issue, and they are a bit more like Jarratt than any of the others....
Urbanna, VA, has an average median house worth of $307,700; trash pickup is odd, as 7.5 months of the year they have two (2) times a week trash pickup scheduled - 4.5 months are done as one (1) time a week. Averages can manage things well enough, no worries - that's what all of these tax notions are based on, after all, especially since a lot of the real estate in each and every one of these areas also include green space, woodlands, businesses, rail lines, and so on.
There are 209 households; at o.21, the average tax paid per household is roughly $646 annually. With taxes in Middlesex (o.61, [PDF]), they're also paying roughly $1,877 to the county.
209 households in Urbanna, VA, annually pay a rough average of $135,014 in real estate taxes to the town, and $392,293 to the county - a total of $527,307, if the given median house worth is correct.
Taking into account that the number of times trash is picked up per week is skewed, we DO have a total number by approximation:
20 weeks have trash picked up one (1) time a week.
32 weeks have trash picked up two (2) times a week.
32 weeks have trash picked up two (2) times a week.
Approximation dictates that each month has four weeks, regardless that 4 x 12 does not equal the fact we have 52 weeks in a year. Four months of the year are months that have a "fifth" week; even though they don't always fall in the same way, we're giving benefit of the doubt and splitting them down the center.
(32 weeks with x 2 trash pickups) + 20 weeks with 1 = 84 trash pickups each year per household, give or take. Now that those numbers have been calculated, we can divide: household tax / number of times per year trash is picked up = how much each time trash is picked up costs the household.
$7.70 each trash collection.
Averaging this out by week is extremely easy, too - household tax / number of weeks in the year = how much each week of trash collection costs.
$12.43 weekly.
And now you're going to look at the fact it costs $12.43 weekly for trash pickup in Urbanna, VA, by FYI's logic - but it only costs $5 weekly for trash pickup in Jarratt, VA? What gives? Is FYI actually trying to say that the Town of Jarratt, VA, is low balling and has the right to up their price?
No.
Logic dictates many factors go into creating final averages:
Urbanna's average house median value is $122,700 higher than Jarratt's.
Urbanna's number of households is lower than Jarratt's by 62, BUT
Urbanna's population is also lower than Jarratt's by 160.
Urbanna's average median income is $54,167, and their
ZIP CODE 23175 encompasses 15.9 square miles of land;
Jarratt's average median income is $49,313, and their
ZIP CODE 23867 encompasses 97.215 square miles of land.
Urbanna's population is also lower than Jarratt's by 160.
Urbanna's average median income is $54,167, and their
ZIP CODE 23175 encompasses 15.9 square miles of land;
Jarratt's average median income is $49,313, and their
ZIP CODE 23867 encompasses 97.215 square miles of land.
Why would zip codes and square miles come into account as far as income, you may wonder - everything is lumped together as far as averages. Jarratt's zip code swaths across almost 100 square miles of averages, whereas Urbanna's zip code only covers less than 17% of that amount of space.
By zip code, Urbanna has a population of 1,931; by zip code, Jarratt has a population of 5,298. Odd how that works, eh?
But, seriously, if you look at that $12.43 a week in Urbanna, VA, in relation to $5 a week in Jarratt, VA....
In Jarratt, for $5 a week (via taxes) you get trash collection twice a week (soon to be once a week unless someone can knock some sense into their heads). Sure, we'll throw in two unmanned parks and a few street lights to make them feel special.
In Urbanna, for $12.43 a week (via taxes) you get trash collection, access to a pool at half price, and the use of the marina boat ramp -- and while they do have it, water and sewer is a self contained entity and, instead of tax monies, utility bill funds keep it running. We'll throw in two parks and a few street lights here, too.
Just to keep it even.
And, for a quick recap (so much information) let's look at this again:
- Boydton: $2.78 per week, 2x pickup (utilities) pop.302
Tappahannock: $2.78 per week, 2x pickup (utilities) pop.2,193 - Blackstone: $3.98 per week, 2x pickup (utilities) pop.3,352
- JARRATT: $5 per week (taxes, average) pop.652
- Crewe: $7.39 per week, 2x pickup (utilities) pop.2,262
- Urbanna: $12.43 per week (taxes, average) pop.492
Jarratt falls in the middle. Then again, a town with half of Jarratt's population AS WELL AS a town with three times more people than Jarratt both have a weekly cost of just over half of Jarratt's tax averaging's declaration of $5/week.
Blackstone is a dollar lower per week, but they have a population five times larger than Jarratt's!
Crunching numbers can be fun once in a while, but it gets to be a bit awkward when you are only doing averages on taxes. How many of you thought to yourselves, "How - how are any of those houses in [that area - regardless of which one] even WORTH that price?!"
We get it. We're not responsible, however, for people with money buying a random house on a random street for an insane price and forcing the rest to adjust to a new local price average on paper.
- Jarratt, VA, USA:
For the People.
For the People.