Board of Supervisors - Regular Meeting

Couldn't find out. Good afternoon and welcome Pennsylvania County Board of Supervisor special meeting budget presentation. Tuesday, May 12th, 2026, 5:00 p.m. Board meeting room 39 Bank Street Southeast Chattam Virginia 24531. Madame Clerk, call the role, please.

Yes, sir. Mr. Bowman, here. Mr. Brown, here. Mr. Dalton, here. Mr. Dudley, present. Mr. Whittle, here. Mr. Ingram, here. Mr. Tucker here. Are there any items to be added to the agenda? Hearing none, I'll ask for a motion to approve the agenda. I'll make that motion. Thank you, M. Second.

Thank you, Mr. Bowman. All right. Is there any discussion on the motion? Hearing none, cast your votes electronically, please. All right, the motion passes unanimously. That moves us down to agenda item 5A, which is FY207 county budget presentation. Uh, Mr. Sharter. Good evening and thank you, sir, for being here. Good evening, chairman, fellow board members. This evening, I will present to you all the FY27 budget. Um, this budget is balanced and is focused on maintaining strong governmental services and achieving priorities established by this board. Increased funding for our school system, sheriff's department, fire and rescue, and economic development are examples of some of these commitments. So, this is a $264.8 million uh budget of which $99.6 6 million is the general fund which is our primary operating budget based on a 62 cent real estate tax rate. Some of the highlight of the budget changes for this budget include a $1.5 million increase for economic development funding, $1.2 2 million increase for schools, $827,000

for public safety, $1.1 million increase for the sheriff's department, uh $462,000 for social services, uh $547,000 for water and sewer fund, and $1.2 million increase uh in the solid waste enterprise fund. This slide gives you a a a good graphical glimpse of where the general fund revenues come from of the 99,596,664. So the first uh column there in in blue or one u in in blue is real estate taxes is represents 44 cents of every dollar that the county receives in uh local taxes. 14 cents in the next column orange of each dollar comes from personal property taxes. The next column in gray there at three cents is merchants capital machinery and tool tax. Um the yellow block of 20 cents of each dollar comes from state funding and 18 cents comes from other taxes and fees. Now on the expenditure side, uh very uh similar example of each dollar bill expended out of the general fund. So the first column of 18 cents of each dollar funds your general government operations, your various governmental departments. Um the next the next group of represents 32 cents of each dollar is justice and public safety operations. The middle column of 11 cents of each dollar is health and human services

funding. The next uh column in yellow is funding for education at 28 cents of every dollar. The next column is debt service. the darker shade of blue, they're at eight cents of each dollar. And the three cent column, the green on the very end is non-departmental expenditures. So the uh as the board began FY27 budget discussion, five strategic priorities were established to guide every funding decision uh in this year's budget cycle. and in no particular order. Um, one of those was to make sure we had adequate real estate taxes to meet ongoing obligations. Um, another one is additional support for Pennsylvania county schools, continued support for the sheriff's department, corrections and detention, support for public safety, E 911 and volunteer fire and rescue agencies, and general fund support for the solid waste enterprise fund. This um budget is based upon uh a 62 cent real estate um tax rate up from 56 cents the previous year. This increase was necessary to keep pace with inflation ensure sufficient funds to continue providing quality services. So, this this additional funding, we'll start going over where the where the uh funding uh increases occurred over the previous year's budget. We'll start with the school system. The FY27 budget allocates 27,659,579

in total local funding to Pennsylvania County schools, an increase of 1,289,025 over the prior year's appropriation. So, there's a required local effort that we've talked to you all before in the past about the local composite index. It's how the state um calculates what the local funding component will be for the school systems and they uh arrive at this required local effort is what they call it. Uh that is the minimum amount that we have to pay for our school systems. The Commonwealth of Virginia sets a minimum required local effort that each locality must contribute toward public school funding. Pennsylvania County not only meets this state mandated minimum but exceeds it by 6% providing additional investment to support school achievement, student achievement and school operations beyond the baseline requirement. So the highlights of this year's school funding are that we meet and exceed the state's minimum required local effort provides additional 6% above that minimum reflecting a commitment to education that goes beyond compliance and year-over-year increase demonstrates the board's ongoing investment in the county's educational future. the next uh so my slides have gotten out of order here a little bit but that's okay. So, public safety uh and emergency services, the uh E911 uh budget is $2,47,548.

The volunteer fire and rescue budget is $4,478,191 and public safety of the county staff funded EMS is 3,688,273 for a total public safety budget of 10,214,012 which is 9% higher than the prior year which means 82 $27,000 increase. Um, of these increases, it's represented uh the fire apparatus funding that we provide for volunteer fire and rescue agencies, which is goes toward a firet truck increase $75,000 this year to bring that total annually of $725,000. We fund up to two uh these trucks each year. So that would be $362,500 towards each truck purchased each fiscal year. Uh $50,000 increase for an ambulance. It brings the total annual funding to $550,000, which means we would be putting $275,000 toward the purchase of up to two ambulances each year for the volunteer fire and rescue. Uh volunteer contributions were increased $48,000 this year. So the fire and rescue agencies get a base currently funding of $33,000 a year and that's increasing to $34,500 to offset their operational costs for their station. EMS supplement increased $82,000 this year, which is for EMS calls. They currently get $25 per call and that's increasing to $35 per call

reimbursement. Uh fire response um reimbursement increased $40,000. They currently get $20 a call and that is increasing to $30 a call. And fire service contracts are increasing $50,000 from 61,400 to 111,400. And these contracts are for maintenance and testing on their equipment. And training increased $60,000 this year from $40,000 to $100,000 to provide for their needed and necessary training. These uh additional investments to volunteer fire and rescue is $45,000 over the pre previous fiscal year. Solid Waste Enterprise Fund um is their budget for this year is 7,966,36. This includes uh a,362,36 uh funding from the general fund. The hol the household solid waste uh fee has remained unchanged since 2018. As inflation has steadily increased, the cost of operating a landfill and collection services have as well. This stability has been deliberate choice not to raise the fee to minimize the burden on county residents. However, projected revenues for FY27 are insufficient to cover the full cost of operations, particularly in light of major upcoming capital requirements. To bridge this gap and sustain the service without the fee increase, the board's committing a,362,36 of general fund contribution to the

solid waste enterprise fund. So the the reason this contribution is needed is inflation has outpaced the fee revenue growth since 2018 including contract rates and solid waste household fees. Significant capital investment is required in the near term. Some of these upcoming capital uh requirements um are rather large as you can see. So none of these are budgeted in this budget. Um, we're going to have to budget those or or borrow the funds in the near future, but $8.2 million for phase three cell deconstruction. Opening of a new landfill sale is necessary to maintain ongoing disposal capacity. Funding must be secured by the fall in the fall of 2026. This is the most critical near-term capital obligation for the fund. 3.2 2 million is needed for new landfield equipment. Um, in the immediate need is a D8 bulldozer and 836 uh compactor to replace aging equipment essential for safe and efficient landfill operations. And 1.2 2 million for new convenience centers have been identified to create a new compactor site in the Java community area which is currently being serviced by frontload um traditional dumpsters and the Mley hurt to improve service access for residents in those areas. The water and sewer uh enterprise fund is budgeted at $5,97,000 for FY27, an increase of $547,000 over the prior year. The budget is supported by an average of 6.5% rate increase and covers the full operational

cost of water and sewer services countywide. Key FY27 projects will include Stony Mill um Stony Mill Road waterline engineering. Engineering work is included in this budget in preparation for estimated $6 million Stony Mill Road waterline project currently under consideration. Wayside number two, well uh system upgrade infrastructure upgrades to maintain reliability and service quality of the existing well system at that location. And Arnell Smith water lines 214,000 in capital reserve funding is included for debt service on the Arnell Smith waterline project estimated at $5.6 million total. Project funding may be secured in the fall of 26. So, I guess I wasn't out of line in my slides. I just need to go back and find the sheriff one. I must have double clicked and overlook it. So, we'll go back to sheriff's department for FY27 funding. Give you a minute to go back in your packet and look for that. My fingers got quicker than my eyes for once in my life. So, a total of $18,328,116 has been allocated to the sheriff's department for FY27, an increase of $1.1 million over the prior year. This budget supports full scope of law enforcement operations, including patrol, corrections, and detention functions. The key funding investments, the biggest one was the vehicle rotation plan of an increase of 534, $75 over last year's budget. The largest driver, the FY27 increase. An expanded

fleet rotation schedule replaces aging patrol vehicles on a structured cycle, ensuring officers have reliable, safe equipment and and reducing long-term maintenance costs. school resource officers. The budget continues full financial support for SRO's in every Pennsylvania county school. The investment ensures a safe learning environment for students and staff across all school facilities, personnel and equipment, adequate tools, technology, and resources for all sheriff's department personnel to carry out their duties effectively. So this is a $1.1 million increase for the sheriff's department budget over FY 26. So we'll go back now to the conclusion slide. So in conclusion, the FY27 successfully balances projected revenues with expected expenditures while delivering on every board priority. Pennsylvania County remains committed to providing quality services, pursuing economic development, and maintaining responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. So, as a recap, it's a $264.8 million total budget. All of the the board's priorities were met. The tax rate of real estate was set at 62 cents and there was 0 of fund balance used to balance this budget.

Are there any questions? questions from the board. Mr. Yes, sir. Mr. Bober,

so thank you, Mr. Shorter, for a great presentation and I think you touched all the buttons, hot button items that we brought up during our budget meetings. Uh the one glaring is the solid waste where it looks like we're still underwater there and there's something that's going to have to be done. and you've already identified um if I can find a sheet that it has to be done by the end of this year. Um if I'm not mistaken, yeah, we're going to have to do something. You have three contracts that are up, two renewed with annual escalation. Mr. Bowman,

can you speak into the mic, please? I'm sorry. Uh and then one that's due uh June of 27. Those are not going to cover the expenses that we're looking at, which are a new sale opening, things like that. No, no, sir.

We're going to have to figure out where to come up with that um decrement, that cost based on what we've approved, what we're going to approve, and what the expense is going to be. So, that's a big layering highlight. The other thing that I I don't see here are the capital projects uh that we have talked about, and that's something that is a of critical. it's urgent uh that we need to also look at. So just because we approve this doesn't mean we sit back and take a big sigh of relief and say it's done for 12 months. We've still got a lot of work to do in order to cover down on the expenses that we're faced with in the upcoming months. Uh so Mr. Chairman, that's all I want to say about that at this time. Thank you, Mr. Sharter, for a good good

president. Thank you.

Anyone else? If no one else, let me at least have a bite at the apple. Mr. Sher, I want to personally thank you for great presentation. Uh you put it together. It's uh it's broken down wherein you know we all can understand it. Even the general public. Uh I want to thank Miss Vanderhid, Mr. Van Allen, Mr. Bowman, and the remainder of the U finance committee. We put in some pretty long hours trying to uh get this thing to kind of come into focus. And I started out the year talking about the fact that we have a constrained budget this time. Um and and let me re redirect everyone's attention back to solid waste. Uh because in my mind uh I mean great job with what we had to work with as far as the resources, the revenues, but in my mind and Kim can maybe take me out back to the woodshed, but um it's kind of a cardinal sin to take $1.3 million out of the general fund to actually make our solid waste enterprise fund whole. And I think I recall saying to uh to this board and to the entire uh public when uh we did not want to raise the u the collection fee, we left it at $120 annually versus moving it at all. this is this is the result of not uh you know having any type of increase there. Uh but this is something and Mr. Bowman is exactly

right. This is something that we cannot set as a precedence to dip into the general fund to balance your your budget. That is not good accounting practices in my mind nor uh our auditors they will probably frown on that if we get ourselves into this mode of just you know anytime uh we don't have a political will to uh do what's necessary to provide the revenues to fund this budget. So um I commend everyone working on this budget uh that we were able to balance it uh and not cut any essential services. But at the same time I'm going to precaution all of us in this dis that we cannot and I cannot stress it enough we cannot be dipping into the general fund uh to balance the budget going forward. Thank you. Anyone else?

Mr. Chair. Yes, sir. Mr. Um,

Mr. Shorty, you did a great job and we appreciate that considering what revenue we had to work with and the respective needs and, you know, sort of to spin off something Mr. Tucker said is collectively as a board we we've made some mistakes through the years and not keeping up with the u cost of living inflation um because of the dreaded word of uh having increased taxes and nobody likes that. We we pay taxes. We we don't like to do it as much as anybody, but I think it's our civic duty to pay our taxes because that in turn provides services. But um it it was quite defeat to make sure that the departments that that needed the funding got what they needed. And often when people fuss at me about the the tax rate, I ask them two questions. Number one, have you looked at the budget? And the answer is no, I haven't. The second is well considering the top five departments in request, which one do you want me to cut? Is it law enforcement? Is it our teachers, our students? You know, is it fire and rescue? I don't get an answer on that either. So, I I think collectively, and I hear you, Mr. Tucker, and I agree with much of what you said. Uh we we've we've got some good prospects in the future and we've got some difficult decisions to make, but I I'm very pleased with the work that you and Kim and and Garrett have done and um and I'm just very grateful for that and um having said that appreciate your work. Thank you.

Thank you. Anything else? Thank you, Mr. Sharter. Job well done. All right, that moves us down to agenda item 5B. Uh, a resolution uh of approval. We need to advertise so we can have a public hearing to increase the uh water rates, water and shore rates. Gentlemen, Yes. Have you all read resolution number 2026-05-01?

And you also have copies of the paper.

Come on up. For the benefit of the people at home, Mr. Van, I'm sorry. So, the resolution that you had in your board packet um mirrors almost exactly what the actual advertisement reads. So, citizens in all of these different areas will know exactly what their rates will be. Um and they can s read that right in the paper. They'll also be posted on our website as well. So that was what that packet that I gave you so that you all could see exactly what they'll be seeing in the newspaper without having to go to the newspaper. They'll also be on our website and all the documents behind that will be with it as well. Um I also want to add while we're talking about rates um included in the county's budget, we will also review the fees that are associated with um any increases that we have. So, we have fees for the landfill. We have fees for the pet center. We have fees for recreation. And they're in your um appropriations resolution each year, budget appropriations res resolution, but we will also post that fee schedule for the public as well. So, and we will go over that at the work session at the next meeting. So, I just wanted you to be aware that that's also included in this advertise in the county's advertisement. But for right now, you'll need to make a motion on the water and sew one.

That's that's Listen, gentlemen, all we need to do I need a motion and you can just read it from here. Uh that we advertise for public hearing to establish an increase on water and sewer rates. Mr. Chairman, I can make that motion. U if you want me to read it off. U make a motion to adopt resolution 2026-05-01 establishing proposed increase in water and sewer rates, fees, and charges and authorizing advertisement for a public hearing to be held on June 4th, 2026. Mr. Chairman, that is my motion. Support for the motion. Thank you, Mr. Dudley.

I'll second it. Thank you, Mr. Ingram. Any discussion? Let's see. Mr. Adcock, anything to add.

All right. No discussion. Gentlemen, vote electronically, please. All right. Motion carries unanimously. Thank you. Uh that takes us to agenda item 5C. Uh FY27 County budget public hearing advertisement authorization recommendation. Miss Vanderhigh, that was your recommendation.

This one is also in your packet. So you could see what that was as well. So, we will advertise for the county budget in its entirety, which includes the schoolboard budget, and then we will also have a separate public hearing on just your school board. So, that's going to come as two motions. One for the county budget, and then you need to do one to also advertise your school budget. Um, but the county one does encompass um the total of the school budget as well. Okay. Thank you so much. All right. Uh, I'll entertain a motion to advertise first off the county budget.

I'll make a motion. Thank you, Mr. Ingram. Support, please. Second. Thank you, Mr. Brown. Any discussion? Hear no discussion. We ask that you vote electronically, please. Motion passes unanimously. Thank you. The second piece is um I need a motion to advertise the school budget. Mr. Chairman, I'll make that motion for the school uh budget. Thank you, Mr. Bowman. Support, please. I'll second it. Motion.

Thank you, Mr. Dudley. Any discussion hearing? None. Please vote electronically. Motion passes unanimously. Thank you, gentlemen. Any matters from board members? Board members, anything? Again, um I just want to express my gratitude to this board. uh for your courage during this time of the year, especially setting the budget and the rates uh and all of that. Uh I I know it's a lot. I know we get the phone calls, but uh this is one of the reasons that you're serving and I really appreciate your fortitude in serving on this board. Thank you so very much and thank you to the staff. Again, thank you Mr. Sharter and also all of your staff. Uh if nothing else, we stand a journ.