April 21, 2025: Budget public hearings tonight in Appomattox, Buckingham, and Powhatan
Plus: Appomattox County Supervisors will have a public hearing on eliminating a precinct from the Piney Mountain District
Another week of summaries of upcoming meetings in local and regional government in Virginia’s Fifth District. This is an experimental newsletter that seeks to add more character and self-knowledge about this political jurisdiction written by a graduate of Brookville High School in Campbell County. It is my way of learning more about a place I’ve been for most of my life.
I began this newsletter in the summer of 2022 to see if I could do it. At the time, there was a chance I’d be moving back to Lynchburg but that didn’t happen. This went on hiatus until recently when I learned the Appomattox Times-Virginian was folding. I don’t know how well that former newspaper covered local government, but I know that local government does not get the attention and scrutiny it deserves.
So I relaunched but I’m well aware of my limitations. This is the second of two newsletters I have on Substack, and the other wants takes precedence. I also write two stories a week for C-Ville Weekly and confess I have no idea what I’ll write until this goes out the door. I live for deadlines!
There’s some sort of a glitch going on with Civic Plus, a platform used by many localities across the United States of America to serve as a portal to information about upcoming meetings. The agendas load and then suddenly crash, making it more difficult to bring the information forward.
That is one reason this edition may not have the detail I would have wanted. But this is reason #34-JK-P1 why Fifth District Community Engagement is an experimental newsletter. I also went to a house concert last night and I’m groggier than usual this Monday morning.
Amelia County Supervisors to hold special meeting to continue budget workshop
The Amelia County Board of Supervisors began a work session on the budget on April 16 but did not conclude business. According to a public notice on the meeting page, they’ll gather again at 7 p.m. in the Conference Room at the Amelia County Administration Building located at 16360 Dunn St., Amelia Court House, VA 23002.
“The Amelia County Board of Supervisors will hold a meeting for discussions on the FY26 Budget,” the notice continues. “Any questions may be directed to the County Administration at (804) 561-3039.”
One of the issues is that there appears to be a $4.8 million surplus for FY2025. Learn more about the budget from the materials for the April 16 meeting.
Public hearing before Appomattox Supervisors for proposal to eliminate one voting precinct in the Piney Mountain District
The Appomattox County Board of Supervisors meets at 6 p.m. at 171 Price Lane in Appomattox. (agenda)
The meeting begins with a budget work session with two topics. The Board finalized the budget at the March 25 work session, but the library had an outstanding request for an additional $29,238 for two position changes. In the second, there was another request from the Southside Virginia ASAP that had originally been sent to the wrong address. Staff recommends granting the $5,000.
The agenda for the Appomattox Board of Supervisors has a slot for “appearances” and here is who is on deck for today.
Paul Denham, the vice chair of the GO Virginia Region 2, will give a presentation. This is available in advance.
Robert Brown, the administrator of the Virginia Department of Transportation Appomattox Residency, will present the unpaved road priority list as a briefing in advance of the May 19, 2025 public hearing. (view the list)
Jonathan Garrett, Fire Chief of the Appomattox Volunteer Fire Department, will provide information about the new ladder truck as well as a grant the department has received to purchase personal protective equipment. (learn more)
Sheriff Robert Richardson will discuss a JAG grant for his department.
Jeff Shepherd, a maintenance supervisor, will provide an update on roof repairs at the county administration building.
Johnnie Roark will provide an update on the solid waste report delivered to the Board in March. This will consist of more simplified estimates.
There will be two public hearings.
The first is to take public comment on a proposal to consolidate two precincts in the Piney Mountain District into one at the Oakville Ruritan Building. There were reports in early March about this proposal but I could not find an update. (proposed ordinance)
The second is on the proposed $58.1 million budget for FY2026. (read the document)
There are four items up for action.
The first is to schedule a public hearing for a rezoning request at 11799 Richmond Highway from Agricultural zoning to Industrial zoning to operate a contractor’s storage yard. This would be for May 19, 2025.
The second is to accept streets in the Woodchase subdivision into the secondary road system.
The third is for a transfer of $10,234.35 to the firm Management Consulting to help with a search for a new director of the Department of Social Services.
The fourth is for a transfer of $106,906.80 to cover the cost of body-worn cameras for the Sheriff’s Department. Supervisors approved the purchase in January.
Supervisors will return on May 19, 2025.
Buckingham County Supervisors to hold public hearing on FY26 budget
The Buckingham County Board of Supervisors will meet at 6 p.m. in the Peter Francisco Auditorium at the County Administration Building. (meeting packet)
There will be several presentations including one from Finance Director Juanita Shanks. There will also be four resolutions of memorial including one for “Buckingham County Sheriff’s Department’s Corporal Hunter Travis and Deputy Jessy Warner for their heroic lifesaving efforts during an accident.”
After public comments there will be a presentation from Scott Frederick of the Virginia Department of Transportation.
There are two public hearings.
The first is for the flood plain ordinance.
The second is for the FY26 operating budget.
There are introductions of three land use matters. These go to the Board for a briefing before a public hearing.
The first is for a special use permit for a commercial garage and auto repair shop at 17534 E. James Anderson Highway in Dillwyn.
The second is for special use permit for 71 The Way “for the purpose of constructing and operating a Multi-Use Event Center with events to include but not limited to vendor’s market to include local artisans, farms, food vendors; and seasonal festivals, arts and cultural events, life celebrations, community events.
The third is for a special use permit to expand a business at 16680 W. James Anderson Highway “for the purpose of expansion of business operations including but not limited to additional housing, Air BnB, dry campsites, and an event center with events to include but not limited to glamping, dry campsites, nature trails, community meetings, special programs, tours, life celebrations, classes, festivals, farmer’s markets, etc. for up to 500 attendees.”
There are two items for consideration. The first is a request from the treasurer for a tax refund. The second is for $450 for gift cards “from Anti-Litter from funds received from recycling.”
Have to move on so this one has less detail than I would like.
Powhatan County Supervisors to hold public hearing on FY26 budget
The Powhatan County Board of Supervisors will meet at 6 p.m. The main item is a public hearing on the FY26 operating budget. (meeting packet)
“At the March 27, 2025, regular meeting, the BOS decided to advertise for the public hearing a total budget of $171,043,191, which includes transfers between funds,” reads the agenda. “The advertised budget net of transfers is $128,805,244, an increase of 7.2 percent from the FY2025 Adopted Operating Budget.”
Charlottesville City Council to get update on how $58.77 million has been spent on affordable housing from FY22 to FY25
The five members of the Charlottesville City Council will meet at 4 p.m. for a work session at which an important report will be presented followed by a regular meeting that begins at 6:30 p.m. It’s a full meeting. (meeting overview)
There is a tendency in recent years for Council to have a lot of important conversations during the 4 p.m work session. For instance, the April 4, 2022 work session was on affordable housing. At the time, Sam Sanders was Deputy City Manager.
“I have been spending a lot of time observing, reviewing, questioning, complaining, evaluating, and testing all of what we do, how we do it, why we do it, and trying to figure out what else we can do to make it all run more smoothly and definitely be run better,” Sanders said at the beginning of a work session 1,112 days ago.
An Affordable Housing Plan adopted by Council in March 2021 morally committed the City Council to spend $10 million a year for at least ten years. At that meeting in April 2022, Sanders reported on a study of how the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund had been used since it was created in 2008. You can go back and read or listen to my story here.
In the here and now, Charlottesville City Council will get another update on how affordable housing investments since adoption of the Affordable Housing Plan. This one details how $58.77 million has been spent between FY22 and FY25. That includes $9.58 million in tax relief programs.
I will do a full report from this meeting. For now, here are the materials:
Attachment C from the report (the presentation)
Attachment D consists of specific pages of the Affordable Housing Plan
The work session continues with a presentation on two new policy tools that Council is being asked to consider. One is the creation of a new land bank authority to purchase property for the purpose of affordable Housing. Currently the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority is purchasing land for their expansion while nonprofit groups purchase land for initiatives such as the Piedmont Community Land Trust.
In the packet is a proposed ordinance to create a Land Bank Authority and specifies it cannot use eminent domain. The authority would be tax-exempt. Take a look at the presentation here.
Next up is the introduction of another acronym that I refuse to use in any situation whatsoever. Acronyms can be useful but they can often be overused to the point where no one remembers the underlying words.
The second policy tool is the creation of a mechanism to give developers lowered taxes or rebates to assist with the financial loss they will take by having to build units that must be rented or sold below market level.
“The [Charlottesville Affordable Housing Tax Abatement Program] could help continue the City’s broader strategy to ensure that affordability, displacement prevention, and housing access are not just aspirational goals, but measurable outcomes embedded in local development practice,” reads the agenda memo.
These details will be important to get out in a story, as is the idea that the Land Bank Authority of Charlottesville and the tax abatement program could fit together. The details will be worth writing out and we’ll see how it looks from three years from now.
Charlottesville to hold public hearing for tax rates
The regular meeting of the Charlottesville City Council begins at 6:30 p.m. in City Council Chambers. They’ll begin with a proclamation for International Dark Sky Week which runs April 21 through April 28.
“City of Charlottesville is in close proximity to the Shenandoah National Park and is surrounded by rural Albemarle County and these natural landscapes are home to many species which rely on undisturbed night environments to hunt, mate, and thrive,” reads the proclamation.
Albemarle Supervisors adopted the same resolution earlier this month.
There’s an item on the consent agenda that has me doing a bit more research. Sometimes a staff report doesn’t really tell anyone what’s going on. In this case, there is a resolution to appropriate $1,304,308 from the Virginia Department of Transportation for the “Monticello 2nd Project” but there’s no written description of what this. We do know from the staff report that $485,177 has previously been allocated to the project. We also know that the project code, or UPC, is 113917.
Let’s first see if we can find any information on the city’s website. I enter “Monticello 2nd Project” into the main search box and the first hit brings up a status page that has the same UPC.
I then remembered the city has recently created a web page with updates on transportation improvements. This project is listed as “Monticello Ave/ 2nd Street Ped Improvements” which lists this project as having started in 2018.
I note that the VDOT does not have this project on their list of active initiatives in the Culpeper District. This shouldn’t be surprising given that the city maintains its own roadways. But the city has also struggled to manage them and has been canceling projects to get back in VDOT’s good graces. City Council learned last April at a work session that VDOT at one point ranked the city’s efforts as “deficient.” Go back and read the story I wrote if you are interested in learning more.
There are two public hearings at this meeting.
The first is a third attempt at holding a public hearing for the tax rates for 2025. This has been twice postponed due to advertising errors. While there was no rate increase, there is an increase in the amount of revenue the city will bring in through real property taxes because of higher assessments.
Virginia code requires localities to tell the public what the real property tax rate would need to be to bring in the same amount of revenue. That figure is $0.9128 per $100 of assessed value as published in the public notice and reported by me.
After the public hearing, Council will hold the first of two readings adopting the tax rate. They have to do a second reading and that is scheduled for April 24.
The second public hearing is for the city’s allocation of funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME programs.
“At this time, the City has not been made aware of any funding decisions by HUD for the 2025-26 Program Year,” reads the staff report.
That’s not necessarily unusual as the exact allocations usually come after the public process is complete. Staff and the CDBG Task Force make their recommendations based on last year’s figures.
Recommended for funding are:
$25,000 to the Charlottesville Investment Collaborative for their Entrepreneurial Programs
$50,000 to the Literacy Volunteers Charlottesville / Albemarle for a beginning workforce development program
$20,500 to the Arc of the Piedmont for a shower replacement at one of their group homes
$140,000 to Albemarle Housing Improvement Program for critical home repairs in Charlottesville
$21,342 for the Piedmont Housing Alliance’s Financial Opportunity Center Credit Hub
$22,618.55 to the Public Housing Association of Residents for their program to involve residents in the redevelopment process
$21,832 to The Haven for coordination of community service providers
$87,723.40 to Charlottesville for administrative work
$49,601.05 to an unallocated reserve
Council will hold a second public hearing on this on May 5 and the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission will hold one on May 1.
Next up, you may recall from my coverage of Council’s April 10 budget work session that the Blue Ridge Coalition for the Homeless failed to receive a $250,000 federal grant they were expecting due to a clerical error.
Council agreed to provide replacement funding and part of the way that will work is that the Blue Ridge Coalition for the Homeless will get a $35,000 payment from the FY2025 from unallocated funds from the Charlottesville Affordable Housing Fund. (staff report)
Next up is a resolution for the city to participate in the Biophilic Cities program.
“There is no financial impact on the City's General Fund,” reads the staff report.
None? None ever? No sending of staff to conferences? No staff time that goes toward participation? I have doubts.
Reading material:
Amelia County to be featured on Real Virginia program, Morning Ag Clips, April 7, 2025
Amherst County parks to receive major upgrades, new parks planned, Alexia Stanbridge, WSET, April 17, 2025
Prince Edward supervisors face choice about tax rate, Brian Carlton, Farmville Herald, April 17, 2025
State releases six-year, $7 billion funding plan for capital improvement projects, Ian Stewart, Virginia Mercury, April 21, 2025