"Looking for a compromise in its dispute with the town of Clifton Forge over taxing authority, Alleghany County is seeking General Assembly approval for it to refund town residents' personal property taxes for the first six months of 2001.

Months after Clifton Forge's reversion from an independent city to a town and part of Alleghany County on July 1, the localities are engaging in a rancorous dispute over the personal property levy for the first part of last year.

A group of town residents has sued the county, claiming Alleghany's tax on Clifton Forge's residents from January through June is unlawful.

The dispute began in November, soon after each locality sent out personal property tax bills that levied for the entire year.

Neither Town Manager John Rowe Jr. nor Alleghany County Commissioner of the Revenue Sherry Stull believes the other is authorized to tax Clifton Forge property owners for the first six-month period.

The town believes Alleghany has no authority to tax Clifton Forge residents for the time when they were not part of the county.

Alleghany contends that Clifton Forge didn't make clear during reversion preparations whether it would tax its residents for the first six months of last year.

The responsibility to tax personal property in the municipality then fell to the county, since state law requires that all residents be taxed, Stull has said.

Tammy Stephenson, Alleghany's county administrator, has asked state legislators for special legislation in this General Assembly session that would allow it to return county taxes for January through June 2001 to town residents.

County and town officials would have to first sit down to agree on terms of the refund, Stephenson said.

'What we plan to do in the next few weeks is sit down with Clifton Forge and come up with language that's satisfactory to both of us,' she said.

Officials would then ask state Sens. Malfourd W. Trumbo, R-Botetourt, and R. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath, to introduce the special legislation needed for the refunds, Stephenson said.

Last year, Clifton Forge became just the second Virginia city to give up its independent status and revert to a town part of the surrounding county. The town contains about 4,300 people.

Alleghany taxes personal property at a rate of $5.95 per $100 of assessed value. The tax period in dispute involves about $256,000 for the county.

D.H. Scott Jr., one of seven town residents who sued the county last month, said a refund would be an acceptable resolution.

The group, however, plans to go forward with the suit to cover legal expenses and late fees for Clifton Forge residents who refused to pay the county, Scott said.

'We'd probably want our costs [refunded] too, because they shouldn't have done it anyway,' Scott said, referring to the county levy.

Town residents owe personal property taxes to both localities for the rest of 2001.

The town taxes at $6.70 per $100 of assessed value.

Stephenson said other than the tax dispute, reversion has gone smoothly.

'There just weren't any rules in place to handle the situation that we've had,' she said.

'All in all, the version [sic] went without a glitch. This was really the only stumbling block that we've had.' " (Calvin R. Trice, The Richmond Times-Dispatch, January 13, 2002)