The first Board of Supervisors meeting for the new year went fairly quickly, lasting barely an hour.
Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, began the meeting at 6:31pm with a call for nominations for the Chair of the Board of Supervisors. Richard Granger was nominated and elected. For the Vice Chair, newly elected Jeff Bueche was nominated and elected. The Board also approved of having Dr. Young serve as the Clerk of the Board.
There was some discussion as to the meeting calendar for the year. The proposed calendar in the Agenda caused some discussion regarding the meetings in July, over the school system's Spring Break, and the one in November. Clarity was also provided that even if there was no meeting in July, the County could still pay it's bills and warrants via the County Administrator. It was finally decided to approve the proposed calendar but with no meeting in July, the March 6th meeting was moved to the 7th, and the November meeting would remain.
Next up was the approval of the Code of Ethics, Standards of Conduct, and Rules and Procedures. The Service Authority Board of Directors was then nominated with the members being Richard Granger, Michael Bennett, Cathy Binder, Ruby Brabo, and Christopher Werle. A letter from Mr. Bennett was read stating that he would be on travel and unable to attend the Service Authority meetings in January but was willing to serve if elected.
The Wireless Authority Board of Directors was then nominated with the members being Richard Granger, Ruby Brabo, John Jenkins, Jeff Bueche, and Cathy Binder.
The Board then went into recess at 6:40pm for the Service Authority Board of Directors and Wireless Authority Board of Directors to meet. It reconvened at 7:08pm to continue with regular business.
For public comment, the only speaker was Kim Dodge who wanted to comment about the budget, finances, and taxes. She said with the property values going up, more money would be collected by the county even if taxes didn't go up. She proposed a roll-back of taxes to offset the property value increase. She said that her income hasn't gone up since she moved here but her taxes have increased and when she talks to people in the community, everyone is under financial pressure. She also said the water and sewer bills are some of the highest compared to the rest of the state.
The Board then began their reports. John Jenkins thanked Mrs. Dodge for her comments and apologized for missing the last meeting. He wanted to comment that he appreciated Cedell Brooks and Jim Howard and their service and wished them the best of luck.
Jeff Bueche said he was humbled and honored to be elected. He said he spent a lot of time on the other side of the podium and that sitting on the Board definitely had a different point of view. He hopes to stay just as passionate on the Board. He also thanked his wife and family and friends for their support when he ran for office. Bueche thanked Jim Howard for his advice and support. He felt the move to have another citizen on the Service Authority Board of Directors was a positive thing and his intent was to have the Service Authority run as a business. Bueche said he went to Fairview Beach on January 6, 2018 to see how citizens and Dominion Power were responding to the power outage. He said Chief Steve Lynd was on scene with four other emergency responders, Carrington Balderson, Jacob Mahoney, Matthew Callaway, and Bryan Stone. He was very impressed at them going door to door to check on residents and make sure they knew a warming center was open if they needed one. He nominated Shelley Rentz for the Smoot Library Board of Trustees, she was approved, and he then resigned from the Social Services Board and nominated James Brent as a replacement, who was also approved.
Ruby Brabo's report addressed some of Mrs. Dodge's concerns about the increase in property values by clarifying that historically the Board would equalize the tax rate so the County would collect the same amount of money. In other words, with the property values going up, the tax rate would drop or if the property values went down, the tax rate would go up.
Cathy Binder's report was short as she thanked her family and the constituents that elected her. She was honored and humbled and will do her best to serve those she represents and the community as a whole.
Richard Granger also thanked Mrs. Dodge for speaking and said, candidly, that he was not excited about paying more money with regard to the increased home values. He also thanked Ruby for being the Chairwoman for the past two years and presented her with a plaque in appreciation for her service.
The meeting then shifted into high gear with the Consent Agenda being passed, no report from Eric Gregory, the County Attorney, and a long list of appointments and resignations as the Board members filled open positions on various Boards and Committees such as COMREL, GWRC, and the YMCA.
Neiman Young, County Administrator, then gave his report. He said FAMPO (Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Commission) had notified him that a presentation regarding the new Harry Nice Bridge would be available online on January 18, 2018 and would be open to public comment through the website until February 20, 2018. Supervisor Brabo made a suggestion to the rest of the Board that they should review the presentation prior to the January 23, 2018 Board meeting in order to be ready to prepare a response, as a Board, to FAMPO and Maryland. Dr. Young was also contacted by the Bay Workforce Consortium Development Board looking for representation on their Board. Ryan Gandy and Richard Granger were chosen and Ruby Brabo volunteered as an alternate. Young then suggested the Board begin scheduling work sessions for the upcoming budget. The Board agreed that the first budget work session meeting would take place on January 31, 2018 at 6:30pm. The Board also agreed that future budget work sessions would be every Wednesday evening and every Tuesday evening that the Supervisors does not regularly meet. Dr. Young also reminded the Board to have a citizen ready for nomination to serve on the Citizen Budget Advisory Board by the next Board meeting.
There was no Closed Session so the meeting adjourned at 7:33pm.
Meeting Attendees:
John Jenkins (Board of Supervisors)
Jeff Bueche (Board of Supervisors)
Richard Granger (Chairman, Board of Supervisors)
Ruby Brabo (Board of Supervisors)
Cathy Binder (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)
Absent:
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Board of Supervisors will next meet on January 23, 2018 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Board of Supervisors Meeting.
Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, began the meeting at 6:31pm with a call for nominations for the Chair of the Board of Supervisors. Richard Granger was nominated and elected. For the Vice Chair, newly elected Jeff Bueche was nominated and elected. The Board also approved of having Dr. Young serve as the Clerk of the Board.
There was some discussion as to the meeting calendar for the year. The proposed calendar in the Agenda caused some discussion regarding the meetings in July, over the school system's Spring Break, and the one in November. Clarity was also provided that even if there was no meeting in July, the County could still pay it's bills and warrants via the County Administrator. It was finally decided to approve the proposed calendar but with no meeting in July, the March 6th meeting was moved to the 7th, and the November meeting would remain.
Next up was the approval of the Code of Ethics, Standards of Conduct, and Rules and Procedures. The Service Authority Board of Directors was then nominated with the members being Richard Granger, Michael Bennett, Cathy Binder, Ruby Brabo, and Christopher Werle. A letter from Mr. Bennett was read stating that he would be on travel and unable to attend the Service Authority meetings in January but was willing to serve if elected.
The Wireless Authority Board of Directors was then nominated with the members being Richard Granger, Ruby Brabo, John Jenkins, Jeff Bueche, and Cathy Binder.
The Board then went into recess at 6:40pm for the Service Authority Board of Directors and Wireless Authority Board of Directors to meet. It reconvened at 7:08pm to continue with regular business.
For public comment, the only speaker was Kim Dodge who wanted to comment about the budget, finances, and taxes. She said with the property values going up, more money would be collected by the county even if taxes didn't go up. She proposed a roll-back of taxes to offset the property value increase. She said that her income hasn't gone up since she moved here but her taxes have increased and when she talks to people in the community, everyone is under financial pressure. She also said the water and sewer bills are some of the highest compared to the rest of the state.
The Board then began their reports. John Jenkins thanked Mrs. Dodge for her comments and apologized for missing the last meeting. He wanted to comment that he appreciated Cedell Brooks and Jim Howard and their service and wished them the best of luck.
Jeff Bueche said he was humbled and honored to be elected. He said he spent a lot of time on the other side of the podium and that sitting on the Board definitely had a different point of view. He hopes to stay just as passionate on the Board. He also thanked his wife and family and friends for their support when he ran for office. Bueche thanked Jim Howard for his advice and support. He felt the move to have another citizen on the Service Authority Board of Directors was a positive thing and his intent was to have the Service Authority run as a business. Bueche said he went to Fairview Beach on January 6, 2018 to see how citizens and Dominion Power were responding to the power outage. He said Chief Steve Lynd was on scene with four other emergency responders, Carrington Balderson, Jacob Mahoney, Matthew Callaway, and Bryan Stone. He was very impressed at them going door to door to check on residents and make sure they knew a warming center was open if they needed one. He nominated Shelley Rentz for the Smoot Library Board of Trustees, she was approved, and he then resigned from the Social Services Board and nominated James Brent as a replacement, who was also approved.
Ruby Brabo's report addressed some of Mrs. Dodge's concerns about the increase in property values by clarifying that historically the Board would equalize the tax rate so the County would collect the same amount of money. In other words, with the property values going up, the tax rate would drop or if the property values went down, the tax rate would go up.
Cathy Binder's report was short as she thanked her family and the constituents that elected her. She was honored and humbled and will do her best to serve those she represents and the community as a whole.
Richard Granger also thanked Mrs. Dodge for speaking and said, candidly, that he was not excited about paying more money with regard to the increased home values. He also thanked Ruby for being the Chairwoman for the past two years and presented her with a plaque in appreciation for her service.
The meeting then shifted into high gear with the Consent Agenda being passed, no report from Eric Gregory, the County Attorney, and a long list of appointments and resignations as the Board members filled open positions on various Boards and Committees such as COMREL, GWRC, and the YMCA.
Neiman Young, County Administrator, then gave his report. He said FAMPO (Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Commission) had notified him that a presentation regarding the new Harry Nice Bridge would be available online on January 18, 2018 and would be open to public comment through the website until February 20, 2018. Supervisor Brabo made a suggestion to the rest of the Board that they should review the presentation prior to the January 23, 2018 Board meeting in order to be ready to prepare a response, as a Board, to FAMPO and Maryland. Dr. Young was also contacted by the Bay Workforce Consortium Development Board looking for representation on their Board. Ryan Gandy and Richard Granger were chosen and Ruby Brabo volunteered as an alternate. Young then suggested the Board begin scheduling work sessions for the upcoming budget. The Board agreed that the first budget work session meeting would take place on January 31, 2018 at 6:30pm. The Board also agreed that future budget work sessions would be every Wednesday evening and every Tuesday evening that the Supervisors does not regularly meet. Dr. Young also reminded the Board to have a citizen ready for nomination to serve on the Citizen Budget Advisory Board by the next Board meeting.
There was no Closed Session so the meeting adjourned at 7:33pm.
Meeting Attendees:
John Jenkins (Board of Supervisors)
Jeff Bueche (Board of Supervisors)
Richard Granger (Chairman, Board of Supervisors)
Ruby Brabo (Board of Supervisors)
Cathy Binder (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)
Absent:
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Board of Supervisors will next meet on January 23, 2018 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Board of Supervisors Meeting.
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