Coalition Claims "Gimmicks' By Chancellorsville Site Developer
January '03

SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. - The Coalition to Save Chancellorsville Battlefield (CSCB) released a study on the fiscal impact of the Dogwood Development Group's plans to build a small city on the Mullins Farm at an early-December press conference.

According to Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT) President James Lighthizer the study reveals that Dogwood is using "accounting gimmicks" to hide the costs and overstate the benefits of its development proposal.

"Spotsylvania County taxpayers have long suspected that Dogwood's economic statements are a sham," said Lighthizer. "Common sense indicates that Dogwood's claims of eight-figure revenue figures are sheer fantasy. Now we have the facts to back up that view."

According to Coalition spokesman Jim Campi, the CSCB approached Michael Siegel of Public and Environmental Finance Associates in late October, to review Dogwood's economic claims. These claims are based on a fiscal impact analysis (FIA) written for Dogwood by the team of
Fuller and Bellas.

According to Siegel, Dogwood grossly underestimates the cost of new schools. The Fuller/Bellas FIA lowballs the number of new children that will come with Dogwood's project, and miscalculates capital costs and longterm operational costs to provide new schools and
services. At the same time, Fuller/Bellas overstates the amount of per pupil state aid the county would receive for the project.

Dogwood also underplays costs for other county services. The Fuller/Bellas analysis underestimates the debt service for county services such as police and fire protection. Siegel found the Fuller/Bellas FIA ignored the state's current budget crisis and assumed state spending and per capita aid to counties will continue unabated.

The Coalition charged that while Dogwood hid the costs of its Mullins Farm project, it used accounting tricks to overplay the benefits. According to Lighthizer, "Even Dogwood doesn't believe its own marketing rhetoric." Dogwood is claiming revenue from commercial space that won't ever be built. In the most current proffers offered to the county, Dogwood says it will build only a third of its proposed commercial space.

Siegel's study found that the Fuller/Bellas FIA violates county guidelines by using inflated land values for their proffers based on upzoned property figures rather than current assessed values.
Dogwood President Ray Smith is using these inflated numbers to demonstrate how generous he is being with his so-called gifts to the county, said Lighthizer. "Smith is grossly overstating his generosity by inflating the value of his proffers."

"He's hoodwinking county officials and doing a tremendousdisservice to county taxpayers," said Lighthizer.

In the wake of Siegel's study, the Coalition to Save Chancellorsville Battlefield is calling on the county to have an independent analysis done on the impact of Dogwood's proposed
development.

Lighthizer said, "County officials need to make decisions based on the facts, not cheap accounting gimmicks."

The Coalition to Save Chancellorsville Battlefield is an informal group of 12 national and local preservation, conservation and civic groups representing more than 600,000 members nationwide. The coalition is dedicated to preserving and protecting Chancellorsville
battlefield. Its website is at www.chancellorsville.org.