Lynchburg City Council to hold first reading on FY24 budget; Cumberland Supervisors making statement on Tyson foods closure
Welcome to the second of several installments this week on what’s happening in local and regional government. This time around: Lynchburg, Cumberland County, and Prince Edward County.
The ultimate goal is to one day be covering all of these topics in detail but for now this newsletter is intended as an experiment in research. The first installment went out on May 15, 2022. I’ve learned an awful lot and I’ve been able to share it with hundreds of readers.
Please share it with others so I can grow the audience!
Lynchburg Council to hold first reading of FY24 budget, consider speed mitigation on Enterprise Drive
The seven-member Lynchburg City Council will meet at 7:30 p.m. for a regular meeting. The work session for this meeting has been canceled. (meeting portal)
There are three public hearings before the adoption of the tax rate for 2023 and the budget for fiscal year 2024.
There’s a proposed zoning ordinance amendment related to child and adult day cares that would eliminate all frontage requirements.
There’s a lease agreement between the Lynchburg Regional Alliance and the City of Lynchburg related to office space at 901 Church Street.
There will be a public hearing to take comment on school board candidates for Districts I, II, and III.
In Lynchburg, community members must sign up in advance to make a public comment. There are about 25 signed up. Most are related to the budget.
Under general business, there is an ordinance to designate a portion of Enterprise Drive as a new road designation to allow for placement of maximum speed limit signs and to allow for higher fines.
“Enterprise Drive is a minor arterial roadway connecting Bedford County to Campbell County through the City of Lynchburg with a posted speed limit of 35 MPH,” reads the staff report. “The roadway was constructed in 2000 and intended to function as a connection between US 221 and US 460 and to take traffic off of Old Graves Mill Road in the City.”
Enterprise Drive also runs through Wyndhurst, a mixed-use development anchored by a retirement community, the Jamerson YMCA, and a commercial center. There have been complaints about speeding, and the city is considering spending $50,000 to install signs warning of a $200 minimum fine for speeding as well as two speed-display devices.
Then there are several resolutions related to the reading of the budget such as lowering the tax rate to $0.89 per $100 of assessed value, prohibiting future collection of trash and motor vehicle license fees, and lowering the business license tax rate so it won’t be paid by businesses making less than $200,000 a year.
The FY24 budget will have nearly $12 million less in revenues and will use $1.827 million of the city’s fund balance. The operations budget will be reduced by nearly $3.5 million, with school operations reduced by $4.434 million.
The budget still includes a five-percent wage increase for employees, hired 12.8 new police positions, 17.37 other public safety positions, and spends $1 million on allowing police officers to take their cars home.
Cumberland Supervisors holding public hearing on changes to building fees
The five-member Board of Supervisors in Cumberland County will meet at 7 p.m. in the Circuit Courtroom in the Cumberland Courthouse at 17 Courthouse Circle in Cumberland. (meeting portal)
The meeting will begin with a statement from the Board of Supervisors on the closure of a Tyson Foods plant in Glen Allen.
“The Cumberland County Board of Supervisors, in support of our agricultural community, worked swiftly and proactively to address the situation through our state leadership,” reads a release on the Cumberland County website attributed to Brian Stanley, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors.
“Almost immediately after the announcement, the Office of the Governor and all associated branches of state government were contacted in an effort to aggressively pursue and recruit companies that can fill the void of Tyson Foods as well as to work on our behalf of our poultry producers to maximize their existing contracts,” the statement continues.
There will be a public hearing on Cumberland’s Secondary Six-Year Road Plan with the Virginia Department of Transportation followed by one on building and inspection fees.
“The Board of Supervisors adopted a new fee structure for commercial inspections back in early 2022 and the Buildings Inspection Office is recommending a review and change of residential fees as well,” reads the staff report.
Other items:
Supervisors will hold a public hearing on June 13 on changes to the Cumberland Code to reflect changes in state code to remove the word “handicap” and replace with words related to “disability.”
Supervisors will hold another public hearing on June 13 for a budget appropriation for a contract to pave a parking lot at Luther P. Jackson High School. The highest bid of $436.201 exceeds the threshold for a public hearing.
Another June 13 public hearing will be on a change to the definition of dogs “running at large” in the county code.
Prince Edward to hire the Berkley Group to conduct Comprehensive Plan review
The eight member Board of Supervisors in Prince Edward County will meet at 7 p.m. Their agenda for this meeting comes in three parts. (meeting portal)
There is a public hearing on a request to replace signs at Prince Edward County Elementary, Middle, and High School with electric ones. Because the land on all three is zoned agricultural, a special use permit.
There’s another public hearing on an amendment to the fiscal year 2023 budget related to distribution of $949,999.64 in federal COVID funds.
In other items:
The COVID-19 pandemic caused many delays to Prince Edward’s review of its Comprehensive Plan. The idea had been for the Commonwealth Regional Council to oversee the work, but now the county is considering hiring a consultant to do the work. County Administrator Douglas Stanley is recommending the Berkley Group. The same company is assisting Nelson County with their plan and Albemarle County with their zoning code. Work would begin in October 2023 with completion in June 2025 with a budget of $150,000.
County staff are recommending Prince Edward County remain on an assessment cycle of every four years. The recommendation is to hire the Wampler-Eanes Appraisal Group with field work commencing June 1 of this year with an anticipated effective date of January 1, 2025.
Supervisors will review the contract between the county and Prince Edward County Infrastructure LLC for the Sandy River Water Treatment and Distribution Project. This will serve both Prince Edward and Nottoway County
Reading material:
Cumberland County supervisors look to set budget, Farmville Herald, April 11, 2023
Edna Trent Goldman seeks re-election in Prince Edward County, Farmville Herald, April 27, 2023
Schools, fire departments give update to Cumberland Board of Supervisors, Rachel Austin, April 28, 2023
Firefly Fiber Broadband makes progress in Cumberland County, Rachel Austin, May 1, 2023
With budget adoption date nearing, Lynchburg City Council closes in on a reduced local schools contribution, Bryson Gordon, Lynchburg News & Advance, May 3, 2023
Pine Grove Project receives historic market, Farmville Herald, May 5, 2023