The Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors got good news at a work session Thursday night in preparation for its upcoming vote on the fiscal year 2022 budget.
The board learned there was no longer a potential $700,000 budget shortfall as county tax revenue came in higher than expected, leaving the county with a surplus of $2.3 million going into the new fiscal year that begins July 1.
Assistant County Administrator Bonnie Jewell showed the board various options for spending the surplus.
Filling a $2.1 million gap in the funding request from the School Board is one option, according to Jewell. That money would allow the school system to give staff a 6 percent raise instead of a 5 percent raise. School employees did not receive a planned raise last year.
By CLINT SCHEMMER
Culpeper Star-Exponent
Spotsylvaniaâs Wilderness area may be far from the madding crowd, but it can now boast the same internet amenities as any urban locale.
For what county officials say is a first for rural Virginia, 5G telecom service is newly available to residents of this enclave on the Wilderness battlefield near Spotsylvaniaâs border with Orange County.
On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger helped county officials unveil Data Stream Broadbandâs 5G network at Spotsylvania Fire and Rescue Company 7âs station near Lake Wilderness.
Spanberger, a Democrat who represents Central Virginiaâs 7th Congressional District, hailed the project as âa great exampleâ of what government and industry partnerships can achieve. Driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal CARES Act provided funding for the venture.
Rural Virginia s first 5G internet comes to rural Spotsylvania fredericksburg.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from fredericksburg.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors approved more than $1.5 million to address COVID-19 needs for county schools this week, but rejected two other requests totaling nearly $865,000 after debating a change in its bylaws that threatened to block a vote on allocating the money.
The board juggled public safety bonuses and COVID-19 funding for schools and county staff during its meeting Tuesday. It tabled until its next meeting a proposal to provide bonuses for public safety workers who did not receive an earlier bonus mandated and funded by the state.
The board, however, approved over $1.5 million in COVID-19-related funding to purchase technology equipmentâsuch as computers and camerasâto help county government staff adjust to working in the pandemic. Staff reduced the initial funding request by about $350,000, leaving that amount to go into the general fund.
The Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors appears to have solved the problems that had prevented the county from setting up a trash decal program in an effort to keep non-residents from