Wednesday, April 18, 2018
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Friday, April 6, 2018
2018-04-03 - Board of Supervisors Meeting Notes
Hot on the heels of the Wireless Authority meeting, the Board of Supervisors opened their April 3, 2018 meeting at 8:42pm.
There was an amendment to the Agenda to remove Judy Hart, Commissioner of the Revenue, from the presentations planned.
Warren Veazey opened public comment with a brief summary of recent activities on the Dahlgren Railroad Heritage Trail (DRHT) [EDITOR'S NOTE - Neil Richard, a co-founder of Project94, is a member of the Friends of DRHT]. He said that even though it was winter, the trail hosted a half marathon in February with 129 runners and about 30 volunteers. He also shared that there was a Sheetz to Sheetz run in March with 17 runners and a local Boy Scout troop that hiked, biked, and camped on the trail. He said last weekend a group of 14 volunteers from the AEGIS Training and Readiness Center (ATRC) in Dahlgren came out to help clear and clean the trail.
John Jenkins opened his report by thanking Veazey for his comments and said it "proves that the trail is a positive impact on the community." Jenkins said he attended budget work sessions on March 26th and 27th and April 2nd. He said as a general comment the process has been pretty good and was the smoothest it's been since he's been on the Board. He said it wasn't perfect but it was a solid budget. He said the Board has an eye on the future with debt mitigation and that he's proud of securing our schools with School Resource Officers (SROs). He also thanked the citizens that served on the Citizen Budget Advisory Committee, especially Jeff Stonehill who accepted Jenkins' appointment.
Jeff Bueche opened his report by wishing everyone a Happy Easter season. He attended a Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) conference in Richmond on March 23rd and 24th and the budget work sessions on March 26th and 27th. He attended the local Emergency Management Committee meeting on March 29th where they discussed the recent wind storms and planned ahead for the spring storm season. Bueche attended the final budget work session on April 2nd and said that what he's learned from his first budget season is it's not a question of what's more important and that there's no right or wrong answer but that you can't fund everything. He also thanked the citizens for giving their own time, especially Neil Richard [EDITOR'S NOTE - Neil Richard is a co-founder of Project94.] from the James Monroe District. Bueche said he was glad that the debt was being addressed and that it's not just a line item anymore. He was also glad the Board was able to make two SROs happen and that while a third was still needed, two was better than none. He then went on to nominate Dixie Lee Washington to the Smoot Library Board of Trustees, who was approved. He also nominated for future Judicial reappointment Paul Tucker to the Board of Building and Fire Code Appeals and Steve Tarrell to the Board of Zoning Appeals. Both nominations were approved. Bueche closed with an update that T. C. Collins had resigned from the Landfill Advisory Committee and that anyone interested in serving should contact him.
Ruby Brabo's report was a mirror of her Service Authority Board of Directors report where she noted her participating in a conference call on March 21st with the Local Government Advisory Committee about the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. She said the local targets for the Watershed Implementation Plan are being set at the state level instead of the local level and that "communication with the state as these targets are set is going to be critical." She also participated in a conference call with the Governor on March 22nd about the upcoming state budget. On the 24th she taught the Social Media and Citizen Engagement portion of the Newly Elected Supervisors training session at the VACo conference. On the 26th and 27th she attended the budget work sessions and on the 28th she participated in the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) meeting. She said she was happy to report the other localities involved in the RTA were eager to participate. On March 30th she attended the COMREL meeting and on April 2nd attended the final budget work session. She thanked the citizens for helping and thanked her counterparts on the School Board for working together.
Cathy Binder said she attended the budget work session on the 26th via phone and the 27th in person. She also attended the April 2nd budget work session and thanked the employees for their hard work and long hours put into making it happen. She also thanked the citizen advisors, including the one representing her district, Sherrie Allwine. She also attended the Newly Elected Supervisors training session at the VACo conference.
Richard Granger thanked Veazey for his comments on the DRHT. He said he also attended all of the budget work sessions and appreciated the citizens working on it as well as their commitment. He said the Board is addressing some of the concerns such as debt and safety and will continue to address them. On March 28th he attended the Rappahannock River Basin meeting where they got a report on the natural resources priorities. He said he was not surprised that they include clean air, clean water, and clean energy. He also said there was a push to leverage existing resources instead of building new attractions.
The Consent Agenda was approved without comment.
With Eric Gregory, County Attorney, being absent, his proxy had nothing to report.
Drew Williams from the Berkley Group then presented the King George County Trailways Study [this is the extended version; the shortened version was used for the presentation]. Williams said that while they began with the County's 2013 Comprehensive Plan they also tried to look beyond it. He said they were looking for a results-oriented plan and not one that sits on the shelf. He said it was oddly fitting that as he was working on the plan he read the article in The Free Lance-Star about the DRHT. Williams said his group held meetings with various employees and stakeholders in November 2017 and discussed some of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT). During the presentation, Williams added a few comments about the Route 3 "diet" being a low cost solution and that the DRHT was the spine of any future bike and pedestrian network in the County. At one point, Williams made reference to paving the DRHT and Brabo interrupted and said she disagreed that a hard surfacing would be ideal. She said stone dust would allow for a permeable surface, something that is important in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed area. Williams commented that this could make commute times slower but Brabo again emphasized that stone dust would be cheaper than a hard surface and wouldn't have that much of a negative impact on cyclists.
Denise Nelson, also with the Berkley Group, then added to the presentation by going into the two phases that were envisioned. She said there would be a more immediate return on investment for the County in the Courthouse and Dahlgren areas. She said extending the DRHT to the Stafford County line would help as would shared road signage on secondary roads.
Williams then returned to finish up the presentation with the bad news for the evening, the cost. He said that any way you slice it, it's a challenge and it will cost money. Brabo chimed in that while it is a challenge, the County has never planned with VDOT in the past. She also commented that VDOT would pay 80% of the cost for bike lanes if the locality paid the remaining 20% but that King George has never asked for that nor planned for that.
Jenkins thanked the presenters for coming out and agreed that it would take a lot of work but had to disagree with one point. He said that while extending to Stafford would be great, the Owens Road area in Dahlgren was more important. He said he's heard many complaints from citizens that ride or walk through the area. Williams said priorities could be shifted as needed and that right now, the presentation was still a draft.
Next up was the request from Dr. Young for the Supervisors to approve advertising for a public hearing for tax equalization. He said with the newly reassessed property values, the County would earn extra income at the current real estate tax rate. Because that extra income was more than one percent, a public hearing was required. Young repeated his same three options from the budget work session earlier in the week. The County can equalize the tax rate down to 67 cents per $100 in assessed value, keep it at the current 70 cents, or choose to go with a number in between. He also reminded the Board that during initial discussions about equalization, he had asked for their patience and had asked for them to address the County's needs first before discussing equalization. Dr. Young said the current rate would allow the County to meet mandated items such as an updated comprehensive plan, health insurance increases, and Virginia Retirement System (VRS) rates. He said it would also allow the County to fund County raises and new positions that were needed as well as allow for two new School Resource Officers (SROs) at County elementary schools. One final highlight Young mentioned was the ability to reduce the County's debt, marking the first time the County has done so and potentially the first county in the state to do so. The Board approved the advertisement.
Wilma Ward, Department of Finance Director, came before the Board to ask for their approval in transferring funds to pay the contract for the modular units at Potomac Elementary School. This was approved without comment. She stayed at the podium to answer questions about the financial status update she had emailed. There were no questions.
Next was an open discussion among the Supervisors regarding a potential incentive plan for water connection fees. Dr. Young said that John Jenkins had raised the question and was looking for a way to incentivize small businesses by paying back part or all of their water connection fees after the business had reached certain revenue milestones or a certain time period. Jenkins added that he thought the tax revenue the business paid to the County would help offset the incentive payment. Dr. Young said he spoke with the County's financial advisors and there was no threat seen to the Service Authority or the County but that the County Attorney, Eric Gregory, had some concerns over who would be making the payment. Gregory suggested that the Economic Development Authority (EDA) may be a better vehicle in paying out the funds to the small business but that the County could pay a grant to the EDA.
Brabo commented that the EDA still owes the County a million dollars and that she was extremely hesitant to give them any more money. Jenkins said he hadn't suggested the EDA but things could certainly be discussed. Brabo also voiced concern over the existing Service Authority system being able to handle the increased load of more customers when the Service Authority was struggling sometimes to supply service now. Bueche said he liked the idea in principle but didn't want to extend the program to larger businesses. He also said that what a small business was would need to be defined. He said that an incentive plan could attract more small business to the area, especially to the future mixed use development area. Jenkins said small business can certainly be defined, there was just a lot of categories to look at. A date was set for a work session on April 24, 2018 at 6:30pm to further discuss the topic along with additional input from Ryan Gandy.
Dr. Young then began his report by saying the Rappahannock Area Community Services Board (RACSB) asked to have the Supervisors reappoint Beth Elikins. Brabo asked that the decision be tabled until the next meeting because she felt that the Supervisors were just reappointing people over and over again without taking a step back to see if anyone else would like to participate. She also noted that this was nothing against Mrs. Elikins. The Board agreed to table the appointment.
Next, Young said the Comprehensive Policy and Management Team (CPMT) asked the Supervisors to appoint Mollie Morris as an alternate. The Board approved.
There was no Closed Session so the meeting adjourned at 9:45pm.
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)
unnamed (proxy County Attorney)
Absent:
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Board of Supervisors will next meet on April 17, 2018 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Board of Supervisors Meeting.
There was an amendment to the Agenda to remove Judy Hart, Commissioner of the Revenue, from the presentations planned.
Warren Veazey opened public comment with a brief summary of recent activities on the Dahlgren Railroad Heritage Trail (DRHT) [EDITOR'S NOTE - Neil Richard, a co-founder of Project94, is a member of the Friends of DRHT]. He said that even though it was winter, the trail hosted a half marathon in February with 129 runners and about 30 volunteers. He also shared that there was a Sheetz to Sheetz run in March with 17 runners and a local Boy Scout troop that hiked, biked, and camped on the trail. He said last weekend a group of 14 volunteers from the AEGIS Training and Readiness Center (ATRC) in Dahlgren came out to help clear and clean the trail.
John Jenkins opened his report by thanking Veazey for his comments and said it "proves that the trail is a positive impact on the community." Jenkins said he attended budget work sessions on March 26th and 27th and April 2nd. He said as a general comment the process has been pretty good and was the smoothest it's been since he's been on the Board. He said it wasn't perfect but it was a solid budget. He said the Board has an eye on the future with debt mitigation and that he's proud of securing our schools with School Resource Officers (SROs). He also thanked the citizens that served on the Citizen Budget Advisory Committee, especially Jeff Stonehill who accepted Jenkins' appointment.
Jeff Bueche opened his report by wishing everyone a Happy Easter season. He attended a Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) conference in Richmond on March 23rd and 24th and the budget work sessions on March 26th and 27th. He attended the local Emergency Management Committee meeting on March 29th where they discussed the recent wind storms and planned ahead for the spring storm season. Bueche attended the final budget work session on April 2nd and said that what he's learned from his first budget season is it's not a question of what's more important and that there's no right or wrong answer but that you can't fund everything. He also thanked the citizens for giving their own time, especially Neil Richard [EDITOR'S NOTE - Neil Richard is a co-founder of Project94.] from the James Monroe District. Bueche said he was glad that the debt was being addressed and that it's not just a line item anymore. He was also glad the Board was able to make two SROs happen and that while a third was still needed, two was better than none. He then went on to nominate Dixie Lee Washington to the Smoot Library Board of Trustees, who was approved. He also nominated for future Judicial reappointment Paul Tucker to the Board of Building and Fire Code Appeals and Steve Tarrell to the Board of Zoning Appeals. Both nominations were approved. Bueche closed with an update that T. C. Collins had resigned from the Landfill Advisory Committee and that anyone interested in serving should contact him.
Ruby Brabo's report was a mirror of her Service Authority Board of Directors report where she noted her participating in a conference call on March 21st with the Local Government Advisory Committee about the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. She said the local targets for the Watershed Implementation Plan are being set at the state level instead of the local level and that "communication with the state as these targets are set is going to be critical." She also participated in a conference call with the Governor on March 22nd about the upcoming state budget. On the 24th she taught the Social Media and Citizen Engagement portion of the Newly Elected Supervisors training session at the VACo conference. On the 26th and 27th she attended the budget work sessions and on the 28th she participated in the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) meeting. She said she was happy to report the other localities involved in the RTA were eager to participate. On March 30th she attended the COMREL meeting and on April 2nd attended the final budget work session. She thanked the citizens for helping and thanked her counterparts on the School Board for working together.
Cathy Binder said she attended the budget work session on the 26th via phone and the 27th in person. She also attended the April 2nd budget work session and thanked the employees for their hard work and long hours put into making it happen. She also thanked the citizen advisors, including the one representing her district, Sherrie Allwine. She also attended the Newly Elected Supervisors training session at the VACo conference.
Richard Granger thanked Veazey for his comments on the DRHT. He said he also attended all of the budget work sessions and appreciated the citizens working on it as well as their commitment. He said the Board is addressing some of the concerns such as debt and safety and will continue to address them. On March 28th he attended the Rappahannock River Basin meeting where they got a report on the natural resources priorities. He said he was not surprised that they include clean air, clean water, and clean energy. He also said there was a push to leverage existing resources instead of building new attractions.
The Consent Agenda was approved without comment.
With Eric Gregory, County Attorney, being absent, his proxy had nothing to report.
Drew Williams from the Berkley Group then presented the King George County Trailways Study [this is the extended version; the shortened version was used for the presentation]. Williams said that while they began with the County's 2013 Comprehensive Plan they also tried to look beyond it. He said they were looking for a results-oriented plan and not one that sits on the shelf. He said it was oddly fitting that as he was working on the plan he read the article in The Free Lance-Star about the DRHT. Williams said his group held meetings with various employees and stakeholders in November 2017 and discussed some of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT). During the presentation, Williams added a few comments about the Route 3 "diet" being a low cost solution and that the DRHT was the spine of any future bike and pedestrian network in the County. At one point, Williams made reference to paving the DRHT and Brabo interrupted and said she disagreed that a hard surfacing would be ideal. She said stone dust would allow for a permeable surface, something that is important in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed area. Williams commented that this could make commute times slower but Brabo again emphasized that stone dust would be cheaper than a hard surface and wouldn't have that much of a negative impact on cyclists.
Denise Nelson, also with the Berkley Group, then added to the presentation by going into the two phases that were envisioned. She said there would be a more immediate return on investment for the County in the Courthouse and Dahlgren areas. She said extending the DRHT to the Stafford County line would help as would shared road signage on secondary roads.
Williams then returned to finish up the presentation with the bad news for the evening, the cost. He said that any way you slice it, it's a challenge and it will cost money. Brabo chimed in that while it is a challenge, the County has never planned with VDOT in the past. She also commented that VDOT would pay 80% of the cost for bike lanes if the locality paid the remaining 20% but that King George has never asked for that nor planned for that.
Jenkins thanked the presenters for coming out and agreed that it would take a lot of work but had to disagree with one point. He said that while extending to Stafford would be great, the Owens Road area in Dahlgren was more important. He said he's heard many complaints from citizens that ride or walk through the area. Williams said priorities could be shifted as needed and that right now, the presentation was still a draft.
Next up was the request from Dr. Young for the Supervisors to approve advertising for a public hearing for tax equalization. He said with the newly reassessed property values, the County would earn extra income at the current real estate tax rate. Because that extra income was more than one percent, a public hearing was required. Young repeated his same three options from the budget work session earlier in the week. The County can equalize the tax rate down to 67 cents per $100 in assessed value, keep it at the current 70 cents, or choose to go with a number in between. He also reminded the Board that during initial discussions about equalization, he had asked for their patience and had asked for them to address the County's needs first before discussing equalization. Dr. Young said the current rate would allow the County to meet mandated items such as an updated comprehensive plan, health insurance increases, and Virginia Retirement System (VRS) rates. He said it would also allow the County to fund County raises and new positions that were needed as well as allow for two new School Resource Officers (SROs) at County elementary schools. One final highlight Young mentioned was the ability to reduce the County's debt, marking the first time the County has done so and potentially the first county in the state to do so. The Board approved the advertisement.
Wilma Ward, Department of Finance Director, came before the Board to ask for their approval in transferring funds to pay the contract for the modular units at Potomac Elementary School. This was approved without comment. She stayed at the podium to answer questions about the financial status update she had emailed. There were no questions.
Next was an open discussion among the Supervisors regarding a potential incentive plan for water connection fees. Dr. Young said that John Jenkins had raised the question and was looking for a way to incentivize small businesses by paying back part or all of their water connection fees after the business had reached certain revenue milestones or a certain time period. Jenkins added that he thought the tax revenue the business paid to the County would help offset the incentive payment. Dr. Young said he spoke with the County's financial advisors and there was no threat seen to the Service Authority or the County but that the County Attorney, Eric Gregory, had some concerns over who would be making the payment. Gregory suggested that the Economic Development Authority (EDA) may be a better vehicle in paying out the funds to the small business but that the County could pay a grant to the EDA.
Brabo commented that the EDA still owes the County a million dollars and that she was extremely hesitant to give them any more money. Jenkins said he hadn't suggested the EDA but things could certainly be discussed. Brabo also voiced concern over the existing Service Authority system being able to handle the increased load of more customers when the Service Authority was struggling sometimes to supply service now. Bueche said he liked the idea in principle but didn't want to extend the program to larger businesses. He also said that what a small business was would need to be defined. He said that an incentive plan could attract more small business to the area, especially to the future mixed use development area. Jenkins said small business can certainly be defined, there was just a lot of categories to look at. A date was set for a work session on April 24, 2018 at 6:30pm to further discuss the topic along with additional input from Ryan Gandy.
Dr. Young then began his report by saying the Rappahannock Area Community Services Board (RACSB) asked to have the Supervisors reappoint Beth Elikins. Brabo asked that the decision be tabled until the next meeting because she felt that the Supervisors were just reappointing people over and over again without taking a step back to see if anyone else would like to participate. She also noted that this was nothing against Mrs. Elikins. The Board agreed to table the appointment.
Next, Young said the Comprehensive Policy and Management Team (CPMT) asked the Supervisors to appoint Mollie Morris as an alternate. The Board approved.
There was no Closed Session so the meeting adjourned at 9:45pm.
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)
unnamed (proxy County Attorney)
Absent:
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Board of Supervisors will next meet on April 17, 2018 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Board of Supervisors Meeting.
2018-04-03 - Wireless Authority Meeting Notes
The second quarterly meeting of the Wireless Authority met on April 3, 2018. The meeting began at 8:27pm.
There was no public comment.
John Jenkins, Jeff Bueche, Cathy Binder, and Richard Granger had nothing to report.
Ruby Brabo had nothing to report but did ask the County Administrator, Neiman Young, for an update on the Widos and KGI Communications and their plan to lease space from the Service Authority. Dr. Young stated that the County was waiting for KGI to return the contract after they consulted their legal counsel. He also said he has asked Ryan Gandy, Director of Economic Development, to reach out to them for an update.
With Eric Gregory, County Attorney, being absent, his proxy had nothing to report.
Ryan Gandy then presented his findings from the Broadband Survey. He said participation was fantastic and a late surge from high school students helped. Gandy said that with the help of Dee Strauss and the DECA students at the high school, participation jumped six percent in the final two weeks. He said that student participation was important as it showed the needs of those still in school, especially their ability to do homework. He said based on almost 9,000 households in the County, just over 2,000 responded with many of them having students or a home-based business. Gandy said the home-based business reflects a change in the market that businesses are not just store-fronts anymore and that there's a greater need to have high speed internet at homes now.
Gandy also shared data regarding in-commuters (those living outside of King George and working in King George) and out-commuters (those living in King George and working outside of King George). He said there was a net of about 3,000 that worked outside of King George and said that broadband coverage could help reduce this number. He also said there are currently no plans to expand or improve DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) coverage in the County. Brabo interrupted briefly and said that if a homeowner had DSL and sold their house, the buyer was no longer allowed to connect to DSL. In other words, she said, "it truly is going away."
Gandy continued by sharing the next steps in the process by stating the Board should adopt goals for broadband based on local needs. He also said the County's role should be defined in regards to any Public Private Partnership (P3) for future development. He said that there is also a chance to develop incentives for developers and broadband providers and that some policy changes may be necessary.
Granger asked if Gandy wanted a work session to help settle the details and Gandy said yes. Brabo asked the County Attorney's proxy if incentives should be discussed by the Board of Supervisors or the Wireless Authority and he stated the Supervisors should be the ones making the decision.
With no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:42pm.
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)
unnamed (proxy for County Attorney)
Absent:
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Wireless Authority will next meet on August 7, 2018 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Wireless Authority Meeting.
There was no public comment.
John Jenkins, Jeff Bueche, Cathy Binder, and Richard Granger had nothing to report.
Ruby Brabo had nothing to report but did ask the County Administrator, Neiman Young, for an update on the Widos and KGI Communications and their plan to lease space from the Service Authority. Dr. Young stated that the County was waiting for KGI to return the contract after they consulted their legal counsel. He also said he has asked Ryan Gandy, Director of Economic Development, to reach out to them for an update.
With Eric Gregory, County Attorney, being absent, his proxy had nothing to report.
Ryan Gandy then presented his findings from the Broadband Survey. He said participation was fantastic and a late surge from high school students helped. Gandy said that with the help of Dee Strauss and the DECA students at the high school, participation jumped six percent in the final two weeks. He said that student participation was important as it showed the needs of those still in school, especially their ability to do homework. He said based on almost 9,000 households in the County, just over 2,000 responded with many of them having students or a home-based business. Gandy said the home-based business reflects a change in the market that businesses are not just store-fronts anymore and that there's a greater need to have high speed internet at homes now.
Gandy also shared data regarding in-commuters (those living outside of King George and working in King George) and out-commuters (those living in King George and working outside of King George). He said there was a net of about 3,000 that worked outside of King George and said that broadband coverage could help reduce this number. He also said there are currently no plans to expand or improve DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) coverage in the County. Brabo interrupted briefly and said that if a homeowner had DSL and sold their house, the buyer was no longer allowed to connect to DSL. In other words, she said, "it truly is going away."
Gandy continued by sharing the next steps in the process by stating the Board should adopt goals for broadband based on local needs. He also said the County's role should be defined in regards to any Public Private Partnership (P3) for future development. He said that there is also a chance to develop incentives for developers and broadband providers and that some policy changes may be necessary.
Granger asked if Gandy wanted a work session to help settle the details and Gandy said yes. Brabo asked the County Attorney's proxy if incentives should be discussed by the Board of Supervisors or the Wireless Authority and he stated the Supervisors should be the ones making the decision.
With no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:42pm.
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)
unnamed (proxy for County Attorney)
Absent:
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Wireless Authority will next meet on August 7, 2018 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Wireless Authority Meeting.
2018-04-03 - Service Authority Meeting Notes
The Service Authority Board of Directors meeting for April 3, 2018 began at 6:31pm. Chairman of the Board Chris Werle was out of town so Vice-Chairman Mike Bennett led the meeting. He commented that this was his first time running a meeting like this and would try not to embarrass himself.
Howard Yarus was the only public speaker and again asked that the Service Authority get straightened out and impose the regulations as they were intended. He said he planned to speak later in the evening to the Board of Supervisors as well and said there was too much debt and that it was out of control.
Richard Granger led the Board reports and thanked Mr. Yarus for his comments. Granger said he attended the last budget work session on March 29th and that he was happy there would be no increase in rates or the debt service fee.
Ruby Brabo participated in a four hour conference call on March 21st about the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. She said the local targets for the Watershed Implementation Plan are being set at the state level instead of the local level and that "communication with the state as these targets are set is going to be critical." She said she also attended the budget work session on the 29th and thanked the citizen appointees to the Citizen Budget Advisory Committee. She also thanked Mrs. Richard [EDITOR'S NOTE - Yvonne Richard is the wife of Neil Richard, a co-founder of Project94] for her attendance and engagement as a member of the public at all of the meetings.
Cathy Binder said she also attended the budget work session on March 29th and was pleased that the budget had no rate increases and no increase to the debt fee.
Mike Bennett also attended the budget work session on the 29th and was also pleased that there was no rate increase. He also thanked Mr. Yarus for his time and service as a citizen on the Advisory Committee.
The Consent Agenda was approved without comment.
Eric Gregory, County Attorney, was absent but his proxy had nothing to report.
Chris Thomas, General Manager, gave an update on the Fairview Beach system stating that there was a request to increase the frequency of flushing the lines to clear sediment at previous meetings. He said the next round of flushing is scheduled for April 17th and 18th. Thomas said the KGALERT system would be used to notify residents as well as the Fairview Beach Residents Association. He said the flushing would also include Potomac Landing. Thomas said traditionally the flushing was done a week before Memorial Day so there may be questions regarding why it was done so early or when the "Memorial Day flush" would be held. He said another flush would be planned sometime during the summer.
Richard Granger asked if there was an update on raising rates for unmetered customers and Thomas said there is no update yet. He said there was some concern about it needing a Public Notice and he was working to address this with Eric Gregory.
The Board of Directors then went into Closed Session at 6:40pm and invited their legal counsel, financial advisor, and Jeff Bueche and John Jenkins from the Board of Supervisors. The financial advisors left at 7:49pm and the Board returned from Closed Session at 8:23pm. They adjourned shortly after.
Meeting Attendees:
Christopher Thomas (General Manager of Service Authority)
Richard Granger (Board of Supervisors)
Michael Bennett (Vice-Chairman, Citizen)
Ruby Brabo (Board of Supervisors)
Cathy Binder (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
unnamed (proxy for County Attorney)
Absent:
Christopher Werle (Chairman, Board of Directors)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Service Authority will next meet on April 17, 2018 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Service Authority Meeting.
Howard Yarus was the only public speaker and again asked that the Service Authority get straightened out and impose the regulations as they were intended. He said he planned to speak later in the evening to the Board of Supervisors as well and said there was too much debt and that it was out of control.
Richard Granger led the Board reports and thanked Mr. Yarus for his comments. Granger said he attended the last budget work session on March 29th and that he was happy there would be no increase in rates or the debt service fee.
Ruby Brabo participated in a four hour conference call on March 21st about the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. She said the local targets for the Watershed Implementation Plan are being set at the state level instead of the local level and that "communication with the state as these targets are set is going to be critical." She said she also attended the budget work session on the 29th and thanked the citizen appointees to the Citizen Budget Advisory Committee. She also thanked Mrs. Richard [EDITOR'S NOTE - Yvonne Richard is the wife of Neil Richard, a co-founder of Project94] for her attendance and engagement as a member of the public at all of the meetings.
Cathy Binder said she also attended the budget work session on March 29th and was pleased that the budget had no rate increases and no increase to the debt fee.
Mike Bennett also attended the budget work session on the 29th and was also pleased that there was no rate increase. He also thanked Mr. Yarus for his time and service as a citizen on the Advisory Committee.
The Consent Agenda was approved without comment.
Eric Gregory, County Attorney, was absent but his proxy had nothing to report.
Chris Thomas, General Manager, gave an update on the Fairview Beach system stating that there was a request to increase the frequency of flushing the lines to clear sediment at previous meetings. He said the next round of flushing is scheduled for April 17th and 18th. Thomas said the KGALERT system would be used to notify residents as well as the Fairview Beach Residents Association. He said the flushing would also include Potomac Landing. Thomas said traditionally the flushing was done a week before Memorial Day so there may be questions regarding why it was done so early or when the "Memorial Day flush" would be held. He said another flush would be planned sometime during the summer.
Richard Granger asked if there was an update on raising rates for unmetered customers and Thomas said there is no update yet. He said there was some concern about it needing a Public Notice and he was working to address this with Eric Gregory.
The Board of Directors then went into Closed Session at 6:40pm and invited their legal counsel, financial advisor, and Jeff Bueche and John Jenkins from the Board of Supervisors. The financial advisors left at 7:49pm and the Board returned from Closed Session at 8:23pm. They adjourned shortly after.
Meeting Attendees:
Christopher Thomas (General Manager of Service Authority)
Richard Granger (Board of Supervisors)
Michael Bennett (Vice-Chairman, Citizen)
Ruby Brabo (Board of Supervisors)
Cathy Binder (Board of Supervisors)
Neiman Young (County Administrator)
unnamed (proxy for County Attorney)
Absent:
Christopher Werle (Chairman, Board of Directors)
Eric Gregory (County Attorney)
Meeting Agenda
Next Meeting:
The Service Authority will next meet on April 17, 2018 at 6:30 pm at the Revercomb Building.
Previous Meeting:
Read about the previous Service Authority Meeting.
Thursday, April 5, 2018
OPINION - Citizen Budget Advisory Committee - Part 7
Our final Citizens Budget Advisory Committee Meeting took place on April 2, 2018. The County Administrator, Neiman Young, was kind enough to supply us with a salad and pizza dinner along with beverages. This was likely our shortest meeting in the series and was a general recap of things as they stood. Dr. Young also gave us a brief overview of the revenue coming into the County coffers.
We saw a nice spreadsheet giving details on how King George measured up with surrounding counties in regards to real estate tax rates, business tax rates, and other items. Dr. Young also reminded us of two things. First, this was Wilma Ward's (Director of Finance) and his first time going through the budget for the County and as a result, he didn't have enough time to dive as deep as he would like into the revenue sources. Second, he reminded everyone that the County had various sources of revenue and because they were not always set in stone, or sometimes unknown when the County budget is prepared, they were often hard to predict. Prime among these are Federal and State funds that vary based on their respective budgets. Young also gave a word of caution that he tried to inject as much science as he could into predicting revenue by reviewing data from previous years but that sometimes things change, such as the number of houses built or students in school.
One topic that was discussed was equalization. But it was fairly brief. As we had all agreed to where we were with the expenditures thus far in the process, we didn't really object to the option of not equalizing tax rates. Although we all agreed, Dr. Young did give us the three options we had on the table. First, we could equalize tax rates down to 67 cents per $100 of assessed value. Second, we could not equalize and keep tax rates at 70 cents per $100. Third, we could adjust the tax rate to some amount between 67 and 70 cents per $100. At no time during the evening, or even during the entire budget work session process, was anyone discussing raising the tax rate above 70 cents per $100.
Aside from the general summaries given for revenue and expenditures for the County, there was some discussion about prior topics. The fact that there would be no tax increase by definition but a de facto increase because of no equalization was surprisingly not much of a sticking point. The general impression among us was that even though none of us wanted a tax increase, we also felt that equalizing tax rates would put the County under unnecessary financial stress. In other words, to get the services we need, we need to pay for them.
And in the end, I think many of us were in the same boat. We, both the Board of Supervisors and the citizens on the Advisory Committee, were happy with where the budget ended up but we still had a few things that we wanted, or didn't want, to see funded. It really did feel like a compromise where we all had to give something up that we were passionate about for the greater good of the community. So while we may not get that third School Resource Officer (SRO) I and many others want, getting two is still better than getting none. It's a very fine balancing act but I feel like we, as citizens, have gotten the best deal we could ask for.
By the end of the night, we weren't quite finished. We scheduled another meeting down the road to work on the second year of the two year budget as well as get more information on business and real estate taxes in the area.
One final thought about the process as a whole. I felt that this was an incredibly educational experience and even though things certainly got more heated than expected at times, everyone was professional and brought their best to the table. Every meeting I went to I learned more about the County I live in, about the people that work there, and about my neighbors that live here. I also learned that it truly does make a difference when the public speaks up but it needs to be done early and often. This was a hard lesson for me to learn as I felt that with more lead time, we the public could have had more influence on the budget process. So my advice to my neighbors and fellow citizens of King George County is that if you care about anything at all related to the budget, you have six months to gather your thoughts. Because if you wait until next year's budget work sessions, you'll be too late.
We saw a nice spreadsheet giving details on how King George measured up with surrounding counties in regards to real estate tax rates, business tax rates, and other items. Dr. Young also reminded us of two things. First, this was Wilma Ward's (Director of Finance) and his first time going through the budget for the County and as a result, he didn't have enough time to dive as deep as he would like into the revenue sources. Second, he reminded everyone that the County had various sources of revenue and because they were not always set in stone, or sometimes unknown when the County budget is prepared, they were often hard to predict. Prime among these are Federal and State funds that vary based on their respective budgets. Young also gave a word of caution that he tried to inject as much science as he could into predicting revenue by reviewing data from previous years but that sometimes things change, such as the number of houses built or students in school.
One topic that was discussed was equalization. But it was fairly brief. As we had all agreed to where we were with the expenditures thus far in the process, we didn't really object to the option of not equalizing tax rates. Although we all agreed, Dr. Young did give us the three options we had on the table. First, we could equalize tax rates down to 67 cents per $100 of assessed value. Second, we could not equalize and keep tax rates at 70 cents per $100. Third, we could adjust the tax rate to some amount between 67 and 70 cents per $100. At no time during the evening, or even during the entire budget work session process, was anyone discussing raising the tax rate above 70 cents per $100.
Aside from the general summaries given for revenue and expenditures for the County, there was some discussion about prior topics. The fact that there would be no tax increase by definition but a de facto increase because of no equalization was surprisingly not much of a sticking point. The general impression among us was that even though none of us wanted a tax increase, we also felt that equalizing tax rates would put the County under unnecessary financial stress. In other words, to get the services we need, we need to pay for them.
And in the end, I think many of us were in the same boat. We, both the Board of Supervisors and the citizens on the Advisory Committee, were happy with where the budget ended up but we still had a few things that we wanted, or didn't want, to see funded. It really did feel like a compromise where we all had to give something up that we were passionate about for the greater good of the community. So while we may not get that third School Resource Officer (SRO) I and many others want, getting two is still better than getting none. It's a very fine balancing act but I feel like we, as citizens, have gotten the best deal we could ask for.
By the end of the night, we weren't quite finished. We scheduled another meeting down the road to work on the second year of the two year budget as well as get more information on business and real estate taxes in the area.
One final thought about the process as a whole. I felt that this was an incredibly educational experience and even though things certainly got more heated than expected at times, everyone was professional and brought their best to the table. Every meeting I went to I learned more about the County I live in, about the people that work there, and about my neighbors that live here. I also learned that it truly does make a difference when the public speaks up but it needs to be done early and often. This was a hard lesson for me to learn as I felt that with more lead time, we the public could have had more influence on the budget process. So my advice to my neighbors and fellow citizens of King George County is that if you care about anything at all related to the budget, you have six months to gather your thoughts. Because if you wait until next year's budget work sessions, you'll be too late.
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