by Neil Richard
In a gloriously short budget work session, the Board of Supervisors heard from Davenport & Company, discussed the landfill's impact, and adopted a new Travel Policy.
Beginning with the presentation from Davenport & Company, Kyle Laux and Griffin Moore presented to the Supervisors and the Citizen Budget Advisory Committee members where the County stood financially. As with previous presentations from Davenport, the County's financial advisor, the news was positive. From 2004 to present, the County has "received five separate upgrades" to their credit rating and currently stand one step below the highest possible rating. This high rating was reaffirmed in 2017 from all three credit agencies, Moody's Standard & Poor's, and Fitch. While each agency gave high marks for a strong budget, good financial policies, and liquidity, they all noted the County's debt and the need for a more diverse tax base or economy.
During the presentation, Laux explained one of the charts that showed the relatively low real estate tax rate of 70 cents per $100 of assessed value. In comparison, the median for the state is above 80 cents and many Northern Virginia and Richmond area counties are over one dollar. Jeff Bueche asked how the landfill revenue factored into this lower tax rate and Ruby Brabo said it made the rate 28 cents lower. Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, pulled up the exact number on his computer and said it was 27.7 cents. The general idea, and concern, behind the question was that the landfill has a finite life and that tax rates may rise drastically in coming decades, especially if the tax base doesn't become more diverse.
Moving back towards the positive side of the presentation, Laux touched on the County's debt. Although $74.3 million in debt principle and $28.1 million in debt interest is not positive, the County's plan to mitigate or reduce the debt early reflected in a savings over time of about $5 million. There was also some discussion of what the County's debt would look like if it included the Service Authority debt although there are no plans by the County to absorb that debt.
The last item on the Agenda was a discussion of the new Travel Policy. It was a short discussion. Jeff Bueche said that, as the Chairman, he took the blame for the last budget work session getting out of hand. He said he spoke to each of his peers individually about the updated policy and asked them to submit edits and comments to Dr. Young to draft the amendment. With that, the Board then voted to approve the amended policy.
The following text was added to the existing Travel Policy:
Once the Board approved the additional language, they then voted to appoint Ruby Brabo as the Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) and National Association of Counties (NACo) liaison.
There was a little discussion about the school's pending budget proposal and Bueche suggested that each Supervisor reach out to their respective School Board peer prior to the meeting to discuss the school's budget. The Supervisors intend to hear school's proposal at their next budget work session on March 14th.
In a gloriously short budget work session, the Board of Supervisors heard from Davenport & Company, discussed the landfill's impact, and adopted a new Travel Policy.
Beginning with the presentation from Davenport & Company, Kyle Laux and Griffin Moore presented to the Supervisors and the Citizen Budget Advisory Committee members where the County stood financially. As with previous presentations from Davenport, the County's financial advisor, the news was positive. From 2004 to present, the County has "received five separate upgrades" to their credit rating and currently stand one step below the highest possible rating. This high rating was reaffirmed in 2017 from all three credit agencies, Moody's Standard & Poor's, and Fitch. While each agency gave high marks for a strong budget, good financial policies, and liquidity, they all noted the County's debt and the need for a more diverse tax base or economy.
During the presentation, Laux explained one of the charts that showed the relatively low real estate tax rate of 70 cents per $100 of assessed value. In comparison, the median for the state is above 80 cents and many Northern Virginia and Richmond area counties are over one dollar. Jeff Bueche asked how the landfill revenue factored into this lower tax rate and Ruby Brabo said it made the rate 28 cents lower. Dr. Neiman Young, County Administrator, pulled up the exact number on his computer and said it was 27.7 cents. The general idea, and concern, behind the question was that the landfill has a finite life and that tax rates may rise drastically in coming decades, especially if the tax base doesn't become more diverse.
Moving back towards the positive side of the presentation, Laux touched on the County's debt. Although $74.3 million in debt principle and $28.1 million in debt interest is not positive, the County's plan to mitigate or reduce the debt early reflected in a savings over time of about $5 million. There was also some discussion of what the County's debt would look like if it included the Service Authority debt although there are no plans by the County to absorb that debt.
The last item on the Agenda was a discussion of the new Travel Policy. It was a short discussion. Jeff Bueche said that, as the Chairman, he took the blame for the last budget work session getting out of hand. He said he spoke to each of his peers individually about the updated policy and asked them to submit edits and comments to Dr. Young to draft the amendment. With that, the Board then voted to approve the amended policy.
The following text was added to the existing Travel Policy:
10. Board of Supervisors
a) Official travel subject to County funding by any member of the Board of Supervisors must be submitted via a spend plan to be approved by a majority of the Board of Supervisors prior to the adoption of the operational budget. Each Supervisor will provide their spend plan to the Board for consideration, to include location, duration, purpose, benefit to the County and an estimated cost for each expected travel occurrence. The spend plans will be discussed for adoption or denial during a budget work session or regular meeting of the Board of Supervisors. This process is to provide full transparency to the public on Supervisor travels for engagement with our local, regional, and national partners.
b) A Supervisor travel budget spending cap must be adopted by the BoS for each fiscal year. Should the cap be exhausted, any future travel subject to County funds must be previously approved by a majority of the Board of Supervisors during a regular meeting of the Board. Justification of said travel shall be provided to the Board in a public forum for full transparency to the public. In the event travel is not pre-approved by the Board of Supervisors, said travel, if conducted, is not subject to reimbursement.
c) The Board of Supervisors will also appoint an elected official to serve as a liaison to the Virginia Association of Counties (VACO) and the National Association of Counties (NACO). This position will require additional travel outside the region and additional costs incurred. While the associated travel with this role may be significantly higher than the travel plans of other Supervisors, the liaison’s travel will remain subject to the spend plan and process as outlined above.
Once the Board approved the additional language, they then voted to appoint Ruby Brabo as the Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) and National Association of Counties (NACo) liaison.
There was a little discussion about the school's pending budget proposal and Bueche suggested that each Supervisor reach out to their respective School Board peer prior to the meeting to discuss the school's budget. The Supervisors intend to hear school's proposal at their next budget work session on March 14th.
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