The March 15, 2018 Budget Work Session began on a positive note but by the time I left the meeting, I felt guilty that I may have almost cost the Smoot Library $50,000.
The meeting began with the same relaxed feeling and with no public comment. Angela Foroughi started things off with a comparative analysis of the current fee structure in King George County and it was not pretty. Based on her presentation and comments from Brad Hudson, Director of Community Development, the fees had last been updated in 2003 and 2016, with the changes in 2016 being minor. In other words, the County was overdue for increasing fees and adjusting some of the language. Foroughi's analysis showed that in many cases, the County lost money in reviewing site plans. In the two examples she gave, a site plan review and a subdivision construction plan review, the County lost over $1,200 in each case.
Foroughi then gave some comparative examples of surrounding counties and how their fee schedules compared to King George. Caroline, Spotsylvania, and Stafford Counties all had higher rates and even though populations, development trends, and housing markets may be slightly different, it gave an eye-opening view into how far behind we were. For example a Site Plan started at $850 in King George and $1,750 in Caroline and then grew exponentially in Stafford and Spotsylvania with rates of $10,000 and $5,080 respectively. She also gave examples of certain fees that other counties charged for but we did not.
In the end, her recommendation was to adopt rates that mirrored Caroline County. Foroughi said these changes would have amounted to an increase of nearly $60,000 in revenue based on last year's applications. Ruby Brabo suggested to table any decision until further comparisons could be made with Orange County because she felt they were a better comparison to King George than Caroline County. Another Supervisor suggested adding Westmoreland to the analysis as well just to get a better view of the region.
I think most of the Board felt comfortable raising the rates and it was a pleasure to see somebody come to the table with all the information necessary to answer questions. Mrs. Foroughi clearly had her ducks in a row.
Brad Hudson then jumped into the hot seat with his recommendations on changes to the building fee schedules and language. He suggested creating a few new fees that would make things a little easier for homeowners. For example instead of charging a $100 permit fee, he suggested creating a new fee of just $50 for replacing only exterior egress steps. He felt that charging the larger fee wasn't right and the lower cost was more fitting. On the other hand, his suggestion to create a new fee for large decks would cost homeowners more. He suggested that the current fee of $75 would stay for decks of 300 square feet or smaller but that decks larger than 300 square feet would require a $125 fee because they require more inspections.
Hudson also went into some of the language of existing fee schedules and recommended some clarity and change in a few areas. One area to change was the carport and shed items where he felt some people were skirting the permit process by claiming certain carports were prefabricated when they were not. Other language he suggested changing would combine certain permits into one permit, making the process easier. For example, instead of needing two permits for a generator, it would be combined into one permit. The Board approved Hudson's changes and they will be part of the overall budget presentation later that will be open for public comment.
Next on the Agenda was the Board's approval of the supplemental income for four Combined Courts employees.
Neiman Young, County Administrator, then presented the overall Expenditures in the budget. He said each department head was given ample time to present their initial budget amount and all were on board with the numbers presented tonight. He also said that while he made some cuts and challenged some numbers, all department heads had the opportunity to give a rebuttal to any reductions he may have made. And with that, we dove into each category.
Under the Legislative category, nothing was questioned as we had already reviewed the Board of Supervisors budget by line in a previous work session. Under the General Administration category, a few lines were questioned and explained to everyone's satisfaction. The only item that was left open was the County Attorney's budget amount that was larger than expected. Brabo called into question if the amount shown included fees or dues outside of his role as County Attorney and if so, they should not be. Because the County Attorney is on a set contract, it was odd to see a larger than normal amount compared to last year's figures. Dr. Young said he would review the figures and come back with a response later. Under the Judicial Administration category and Public Safety, everything seemed to be in order. Only a few items were question but were clarified. One item of note was that a grant is currently funding just under $500,000 in pay for fire fighters and that the County would need to pay that amount once the grant ran out in a couple more years.
The Health and Welfare, Social Services, and Parks and Recreation categories passed in much the same fashion where only a few questions were raised and easily answered. Community Development, Public Works, and Economic Development followed suit and were quickly behind us.
Then came the Nondepartmental category and my guilt. Dr. Young mentioned that the Smoot Library was listed but he would like guidance from the Board on what to do with it. The Board seemed to agree to leave it there as there has been no decision made on the potential Central Rappahannock Regional Library (CRRL) takeover. Ruby Brabo then suggested that because Smoot made $60,000 last year in passport processing fees, the Board should reduce their funding request by $50,000. She said that if the Board's pressure on Smoot last year forced them to look to alternatives in finding funding, maybe more pressure would provide more results. Jeff Bueche and Richard Granger were hesitant to drop funding and both agreed to, at the very least, level fund it to last year's budget amount.
This is where my guilt set in as I began to fear my previous opinion article on the Smoot Library, which was published just hours before the meeting, may have struck a nerve with the Board. I sat there in stunned silence as nobody else spoke up and questioned why the library was the only line-item to get this treatment. I was too afraid to speak up for fear that the Board would further cut the funding for a service I feel is necessary for citizens.
I was still in a bit of a haze as the meeting closed with the projected shortfall of nearly $2 million. As Dr. Young began reviewing our upcoming schedule of meetings, he said the school's budget would be presented at our next meeting on March 26th. Renee Parker spoke up to say she wanted to make sure that nobody walked into the meeting with the expectation that the schools would need to cover the shortfall and that we should keep an open mind to their request. Brabo then reminded everyone that the Board had been generous to the schools over the past couple of years and that this year they needed to understand that the focus was more on the County and County employees.
With only a few more meetings on the books, we're hoping to have a finalized budget ready to present to the public by April.
The meeting began with the same relaxed feeling and with no public comment. Angela Foroughi started things off with a comparative analysis of the current fee structure in King George County and it was not pretty. Based on her presentation and comments from Brad Hudson, Director of Community Development, the fees had last been updated in 2003 and 2016, with the changes in 2016 being minor. In other words, the County was overdue for increasing fees and adjusting some of the language. Foroughi's analysis showed that in many cases, the County lost money in reviewing site plans. In the two examples she gave, a site plan review and a subdivision construction plan review, the County lost over $1,200 in each case.
Foroughi then gave some comparative examples of surrounding counties and how their fee schedules compared to King George. Caroline, Spotsylvania, and Stafford Counties all had higher rates and even though populations, development trends, and housing markets may be slightly different, it gave an eye-opening view into how far behind we were. For example a Site Plan started at $850 in King George and $1,750 in Caroline and then grew exponentially in Stafford and Spotsylvania with rates of $10,000 and $5,080 respectively. She also gave examples of certain fees that other counties charged for but we did not.
In the end, her recommendation was to adopt rates that mirrored Caroline County. Foroughi said these changes would have amounted to an increase of nearly $60,000 in revenue based on last year's applications. Ruby Brabo suggested to table any decision until further comparisons could be made with Orange County because she felt they were a better comparison to King George than Caroline County. Another Supervisor suggested adding Westmoreland to the analysis as well just to get a better view of the region.
I think most of the Board felt comfortable raising the rates and it was a pleasure to see somebody come to the table with all the information necessary to answer questions. Mrs. Foroughi clearly had her ducks in a row.
Brad Hudson then jumped into the hot seat with his recommendations on changes to the building fee schedules and language. He suggested creating a few new fees that would make things a little easier for homeowners. For example instead of charging a $100 permit fee, he suggested creating a new fee of just $50 for replacing only exterior egress steps. He felt that charging the larger fee wasn't right and the lower cost was more fitting. On the other hand, his suggestion to create a new fee for large decks would cost homeowners more. He suggested that the current fee of $75 would stay for decks of 300 square feet or smaller but that decks larger than 300 square feet would require a $125 fee because they require more inspections.
Hudson also went into some of the language of existing fee schedules and recommended some clarity and change in a few areas. One area to change was the carport and shed items where he felt some people were skirting the permit process by claiming certain carports were prefabricated when they were not. Other language he suggested changing would combine certain permits into one permit, making the process easier. For example, instead of needing two permits for a generator, it would be combined into one permit. The Board approved Hudson's changes and they will be part of the overall budget presentation later that will be open for public comment.
Next on the Agenda was the Board's approval of the supplemental income for four Combined Courts employees.
Neiman Young, County Administrator, then presented the overall Expenditures in the budget. He said each department head was given ample time to present their initial budget amount and all were on board with the numbers presented tonight. He also said that while he made some cuts and challenged some numbers, all department heads had the opportunity to give a rebuttal to any reductions he may have made. And with that, we dove into each category.
Under the Legislative category, nothing was questioned as we had already reviewed the Board of Supervisors budget by line in a previous work session. Under the General Administration category, a few lines were questioned and explained to everyone's satisfaction. The only item that was left open was the County Attorney's budget amount that was larger than expected. Brabo called into question if the amount shown included fees or dues outside of his role as County Attorney and if so, they should not be. Because the County Attorney is on a set contract, it was odd to see a larger than normal amount compared to last year's figures. Dr. Young said he would review the figures and come back with a response later. Under the Judicial Administration category and Public Safety, everything seemed to be in order. Only a few items were question but were clarified. One item of note was that a grant is currently funding just under $500,000 in pay for fire fighters and that the County would need to pay that amount once the grant ran out in a couple more years.
The Health and Welfare, Social Services, and Parks and Recreation categories passed in much the same fashion where only a few questions were raised and easily answered. Community Development, Public Works, and Economic Development followed suit and were quickly behind us.
Then came the Nondepartmental category and my guilt. Dr. Young mentioned that the Smoot Library was listed but he would like guidance from the Board on what to do with it. The Board seemed to agree to leave it there as there has been no decision made on the potential Central Rappahannock Regional Library (CRRL) takeover. Ruby Brabo then suggested that because Smoot made $60,000 last year in passport processing fees, the Board should reduce their funding request by $50,000. She said that if the Board's pressure on Smoot last year forced them to look to alternatives in finding funding, maybe more pressure would provide more results. Jeff Bueche and Richard Granger were hesitant to drop funding and both agreed to, at the very least, level fund it to last year's budget amount.
This is where my guilt set in as I began to fear my previous opinion article on the Smoot Library, which was published just hours before the meeting, may have struck a nerve with the Board. I sat there in stunned silence as nobody else spoke up and questioned why the library was the only line-item to get this treatment. I was too afraid to speak up for fear that the Board would further cut the funding for a service I feel is necessary for citizens.
I was still in a bit of a haze as the meeting closed with the projected shortfall of nearly $2 million. As Dr. Young began reviewing our upcoming schedule of meetings, he said the school's budget would be presented at our next meeting on March 26th. Renee Parker spoke up to say she wanted to make sure that nobody walked into the meeting with the expectation that the schools would need to cover the shortfall and that we should keep an open mind to their request. Brabo then reminded everyone that the Board had been generous to the schools over the past couple of years and that this year they needed to understand that the focus was more on the County and County employees.
With only a few more meetings on the books, we're hoping to have a finalized budget ready to present to the public by April.
Good notes Neil. I'm a bit surprised that nothing was said about the potential merger of Smoot with CRRL given all the comments on line over the last couple of weeks.
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