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Correspondent
County Administrator Eric Dahl shared his proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) at the Board of Supervisors meeting on Wednesday (Feb. 3).
Dahl proposed a total county budget of $85,277,429, an increase of 6.9 percent over FY21. He recommended a three-cent increase in the current equalized tax rate of 86.5 cents to 89.5 cents. The tax rate on personal property, business, and tools and machinery would remain unchanged.
Overall, Dahl’s budget proposal signaled a tentative return to normal after a year constrained by COVID-19. The pandemic struck towards the very end of last year’s budget-planning season, with the uncertainty causing the supervisors to scrap much of their earlier work and instead adopt an austere $79.8 million budget. Tax rates were frozen and almost all capital improvement plans (CIP) were set aside.
Correspondent
Supervisors Mike Sheridan (Columbia) and Tony O’Brien (Rivanna) will serve another year as Chair and Vice-Chair of the Board of Supervisors, after each was unanimously re-elected by fellow supervisors during their first regular meeting of 2021 on Wednesday night (Jan. 6).
Members also voted to keep the meeting times and dates the same, with biweekly Wednesday meetings held at either 4 p.m. or 7 p.m. With the county courthouse still closed to meetings due to COVID-19, they will continue to meet at the Fluvanna County Public Library for the foreseeable future.
STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
Deputy County Administrator Kelly Belanger Harris gave a progress update on the county’s list of strategic initiatives. This list of objectives focuses on improving county government functions in areas like service, communication, economic development, financial stewardship, and project management.
Correspondent
The Fluvanna Board of Supervisors met on Thursday (Dec. 17) after adjourning its Wednesday meeting due to the ice storm. County Administrator Eric Dahl thanked Fire & Rescue, E-911, VDOT, and both the Lake Monticello Police Department and maintenance department for so quickly clearing the roads of downed trees and debris in the aftermath of the storm.
Staff bonuses
One of the biggest items on the agenda was a state-mandated bonus for sworn sheriffs, deputies, and regional jail officers whose salaries are funded in part by the Virginia Compensation Board. At its special session in the fall, the legislature voted to approve a $500 bonus for those positions and gave localities the funding to cover the payment.
Correspondent
The Fluvanna Board of Supervisors signaled its support for a new medical cannabis production facility at their regular meeting on Wednesday (Dec. 2), approving a letter of support for YAE Wellness by a vote of 4-0-1, with Supervisor Tony O’Brien absent for the evening.
YAE (pronounced ‘yay’) is hoping to purchase 15 acres of county-owned property behind the Fluvanna Community Center and the Fork Union Volunteer Fire Department in Fork Union for the construction of a 100,000 square foot facility. In their letter of intent, YAE committed to prioritizing local and regional construction companies, as well as a primarily local workforce when the facility is complete. Total capital investment in the project would be between $15-20 million.