County Administrator outlines revenue reductions and “frozen” expenditures

County Administrator outlined revenue reductions and “frozen” expenditures

Maybe it’s that the county’s Board of Supervisors, under the COVID-19 emergency ordinance, can only handle essential business in meetings.

Maybe it’s the nature of the Zoom teleconferencing app the board uses to conduct business and maintain social distances and orderly conversations.

Maybe it’s the new make-up of the board and its leadership. Or maybe it’s an extremely knowledgeable and no-nonsense county administrator, or the arrival of a new board chair Christine Smith. Perhaps it’s all of the above. Whatever it is, the civility of recent meetings, one might agree, is a welcome change from the rancor and disagreement that marked board meetings of the recent past.

In Monday’s BOS meeting the board covered numerous items of county business in just two hours.

In the budget review, County Administrator

Garrey Curry outlined revenue reductions and “frozen” expenditures in light of an expected drop in sales tax and meals and lodging tax in the rst two quarters of FY2021 that begins July 1 of this year.

The anticipated drops are due to the closures of businesses from the COVID-19 emergency orders for state residents to stay home and practice social distancing. Governor Ralph Northam also placed some of the state’s revenue contribution in an “unallotted” category — not to be distributed until state revenues allow.

Budget revenue reductions total $483,437, said Curry, and also include elimination of the Fire Tax Levy increase. Expenses frozen in the BOS contingency fund — $503,472 — include a two-percent bonus for county employees, raises for county school employees, and County Attorney Art Go ’s requested raise. Frozen in the Capital Holding account is $141,970 for “pay-as-you-go” capital expenses.

The budget impact from reduction and frozen expenditures since Curry’s original proposed budget totals $1,128,879.

The board authorized Curry to prepare a budget resolution for the supervisors to consider at its May 11 budget

working session. The budget must be approved no later than May 13; the tax rate adoption and budget appropriation no later than June 1.

School Superintendent Dr. Shannon Grimsley asked the board to be “very clear about what will allow access to these [frozen] funds — i.e. if Q1 and Q2 come in at or above projections, then will you release our contingency? Please give these guidelines up front so we can better prepare for what is looking to be the most challenging academic year in history for RCPS.”

The supervisors expressed their support for the schools and vowed to develop clear guidelines for release of school funds.

After a public hearing in which no members of the public commented, the board voted unanimously to ratify the emergency ordinance that was adopted on April 2 and slightly revised April 6. The ordinance lays out procedures for continuity of the county government during the pandemic crisis. The ordinance, which is in e ect for 60 days, also extends the quarterly due date from April 20, 2020 to June 20, 2020 for businesses to pay meals and lodging taxes.

“This may help give business breathing room to make [ nancial] decisions,” said Chair Smith.

Smith also asked if there was some leeway in the ordinance to allow the county to take back up land use and zoning work, noting that Warren and Culpeper Counties were doing that. Supervisor Ron Frazier said he would also like to see committees going back to work.

In crafting the ordinance, Curry said, county sta “had taken a conservative approach [to what constituted ‘essential business’], wanting to conduct as little business in this format that is more dif

cult for the public to participate [remotely in county meetings.]” But he said that he and Go would review the state ordinance with an eye to resuming the county’s land use business.

Dr. Wade Kartchner, Health Director of the Rappahannock/Rapidan Health District, updated the board on the spread of COVID-19. Supervisor Frazier asked how the cases in Rappahannock came about.

“We identi ed where the exposure occurred,” Karchner said. “Most occurred outside the county; two were due to community spread.”

The board voted unanimously to respond to a March 11 letter to Curry from Marc L. Seay, Manager of Information, Technology & Security Services for Rappahannock Electric Coop. The utility wrote to all of the towns and counties in its service area gauging interest in partnering on broadband projects.

The board’s letter in response, going out this week, underscored “the county’s commitment to partner with REC to apply for federal and/or state grants.”

The letter explained that the BOS “unanimously passed a motion to support this project and is willing to commit $100,000, at this time, for capital and/or to satisfy any grant-match requirements, dependent on REC’s nal service/covering o ering. In addition, private partners in our community have already pledged $200,000 in support of this project. We do believe there are additional private funds available.”

In other actions, the board voted unanimously to change the county’s insurance provider to VACORP, and to award purchase for a digital logging recorder for the 911/radio system based on GSA schedule contract.