Some people who live in Massanutten are looking at what it would take to make the community a town.

If they succeed, Massanutten would become the first newly incorporated town in Virginia since 1991.

A group of Massanutten citizens has released a comprehensive report about the feasibility of becoming a town. The report is designed to give a summary of how residents and Rockingham County would be affected if Massanutten incorporates.

The proposed town boundary covers 12 square miles, and would have a population of roughly 3,000 people. That is larger than many of the seven towns already incorporated in the county.

The study says incorporating would open up funding options from the county, state and federal government that are not currently available, such as state and federal grants for law enforcement and more than $1 million a year from federal and state taxes to pay for essential services.

The study also says homeowners in Massanutten would likely pay less in taxes than they currently pay in property owner dues.

Massanutten is currently run by a property owners association, which collects $535 dollars a year. The study shows the average homeowner would pay about $242 a year in town real estate taxes if Massanutten incorporates.

Property owners would still pay the same county property taxes they pay now.

This study is just the first step in a long process.

There are two ways for a community to become a town in Virginia.

The first is by getting a two-thirds vote from the General Assembly and a signature from the governor.

The second way is for at least 100 residents to sign a petition, then get that petition ratified by a court. There are usually hearings with county leaders as well.

The whole process can take as little as two years.

Massanutten leaders are planning to hold a community meeting in September to discuss this issue. They have also sent the study to the Rockingham County Board of Supervisors and the Massanutten Property Owners Association.

Rockingham County Administrator Joe Paxton says he just received the study Friday, and it was too early to discuss how this could affect the county as a whole.

Paxton says the study was initiated by Massanutten homeowners and not the county. He says this is the first time Massanutten residents have done a study like this.

However, it's not the first time residents have spoken publicly about possibly incorporating.

During a meeting with the board of supervisors in February about rental properties in Massanutten, at least one homeowner spoke about the need for Massanutten to become a town to get access to better law enforcement.

Rockingham County currently has seven incorporated towns: Bridgewater, Broadway, Dayton, Elkton, Grottoes, Mount Crawford and Timberville.