City or town? New legislation is bringing up one of Martinsville’s oldest questions

Few things have divided Martinsville officials like the question of whether the city of just over 13,000 should turn into a town. But, thanks to a bill from the most recent General Assembly session, that decision could eventually fall into the hands of Martinsville residents.

HB 1511 deals with the question of reversion, specifically as it pertains to Martinsville. Reversion is the process in which a city becomes a town under the auspices of its surrounding county. Traditionally, city council members have been at the helm of this process, but HB 1511 would require a public referendum before Martinsville could revert.

“The ballots shall be prepared, distributed, and voted, and the results of the election shall be ascertained and certified,” reads part of the bill, sponsored by Del. Eric Phillips, R-Henry County.

The bill, which Phillips said is the first of its kind in the state, cleared the General Assembly and the governor has a deadline of April 8 to act on it.

The bill seeks to democratize future reversion attempts in Martinsville by putting them to a vote.

According to Phillips, this could put an end to the longstanding debate should it pass a referendum. Once a city reverts to a town, that decision can’t be reversed.

Martinsville has grappled with the question of reversion since the 1980s. A November 2019 staff presentation to the city council shows the role financial concerns play, specifically the costs of services relative to the town’s shrinking population and diminishing tax base.

Martinsville has reported a smaller population every 10 years, from 18,149 in 1980 to 13,485 in 2020, according to census figures.

The declining population has implications for school funding, according to the 2019 report.

“We have a steady declining population, which means less state money each year,” it reads.

Financial concerns, along with the desire to streamline services, are among the reasons Martinsville periodically flirts with the idea of reversion.

Over the last five decades Martinsville has explored reversion a number of times. These include a joint commission to study reversion in the 1980s, community-wide public hearings in 1996, a pair of reversion studies in 2006 and 2013, and in 2018, a meeting with towns that had gone through the reversion process.

The 2013 reversion study culminated in a 3-2 vote against reversion. Former council member Danny Turner said, at the time, reversion supporters had the majority of votes until a last-minute change tipped the scales against it.

More than a decade later, he believes the need for reversion is even greater.

“I think it’s obvious there is a duplication of services,” Turner said.

Clifton Forge, South Boston and Bedford have gone through the reversion process, according to Virginia’s Department of Housing and Community Development. In Bedford, council members voted in favor of reversion in 2012, for similar reasons.

“It was to create some efficiencies,” said Bedford Mayor Tim Black, adding that the situation in Bedford was likely different than the one in Martinsville, in that Bedford didn’t have its own school system.

“We were under contract for the county to provide our education,” he said. “I think there was also a desire to merge the water and sewer system. The town had its own, the county had its own, and that was a big piece of it.”

Black said leaving the matter to a referendum vote is a novel idea, while some Martinsville residents describe it as a more equitable option.

“They have to go through a process of referendum and present that case to the citizens and the citizens get to vote on it,” said Martinsville Mayor L.C. Jones. “That’s the most important piece of it, making sure that the citizens always have a voice.”

Vice Mayor Aaron Rawls agreed, adding that he felt a reversion decision isn’t what’s best for Martinsville.

“It’s really very difficult to make reversion make sense,” Rawls said, adding that Martinsville’s efforts to expand commercially is a better option. “Filling out its municipal fiber network or redeveloping abandoned or rundown properties.”

Rawls and Jones are among those sworn into office in January of last year. Their election hinted at how the public feels about reversion, according to Melody Cartwright, who lives in Martinsville and lost the special election for the 48th House District seat to Phillips in January.

“The majority of voters have already voted for two city council members who vigorously ran their campaign against reversion,” Cartwright said. “The will of the people has already been shown, and will in the future with more elections.”