04-4-2024 - Work SessionWORK SESSION OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS HELD IN
THE ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY GENERAL DISTRICT COURT LOCATED AT 17000 JOSIAH
PARKER CIRCLE, ISLE OF WIGHT, VIRGINIA ON THURSDAY, THE FOURTH DAY OF
APRIL IN THE YEAR TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY-FOUR
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT
Joel C. Acree, District 4, Chairman (Remote Participation)
Don G. Rosie, II, District 5, Vice -Chairman
Rudolph Jefferson, District 3
William M. McCarty, Sr., District 2
Renee Rountree, District 1
STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT
Randy R. Keaton, County Administrator
Donald T. Robertson, Assistant County Administrator
Robert W. Jones, Jr., County Attorney
Carey Mills Storm, Clerk
CALL TO ORDER
In the absence of Chairman Acree, Vice -Chairman Rosie called the work session to
order at 6:00 p.m.
INVOCATION
Michael Quatley of Carrsville delivered the invocation and led the Pledge of
Allegiance to the flag.
County Attorney Jones advised that pursuant to State Code and the Board's by-
laws, a Board member can participate remotely in a meeting if a physical quorum
is assembled and if the member has requested and notified the Board that he
wishes to appear remotely/electronically. He further advised that Chairman Acree
will be participating remotely due to a personal matter which will require him to
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state the nature of his absence and the remote location from which he is
participating. He continued that under the Board's by-laws, Chairman Acree is
eligible to participate remotely as he has not participated remotely up to six (6)
meetings this year.
Chairman Acree advised that he is in Pennsylvania on vacation and will be
participating remotely.
Supervisor McCarty moved that Chairman Acree be authorized to participate
remotely in the meeting. The motion was adopted (4-0) with Supervisors Acree,
Rosie, Jefferson and Grice voting in favor of the motion; no Supervisor voting
against the motion; and, Chairman Acree absent for the vote.
Chairman Acree thereafter joined the work session.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Supervisor Jefferson moved that the agenda be approved as presented. The
motion passed unanimously (5-0) with Supervisors Acree, Rosie, McCarty, Jefferson
and Rountree voting in favor of the motion and no Supervisor voting against the
motion.
In recognition of the County's telecommunicators, Supervisor Jefferson moved that
the following resolution be adopted:
RESOLUTION TO DESIGNATE THE WEEK OF APRIL 14-20, 2024 AS
NATIONAL PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATORS WEEK
WHEREAS, emergencies can occur at any time that require police, fire or
emergency medical services; and,
WHEREAS, when an emergency occurs the prompt response of police officers,
firefighters and paramedics is critical to the protection of life and preservation of
property; and,
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WHEREAS, the safety of our officers and firefighters is dependent upon the quality
and accuracy of information obtained from citizens who telephone the Isle of Wight
County Emergency Communications Center; and,
WHEREAS, Public Safety Telecommunicators are the first and most critical contact
our citizens have with emergency services; and,
WHEREAS, Public Safety Telecommunicators are the single vital link for our police
officers and firefighters by monitoring their activities by radio, providing them
information and ensuring their safety; and,
WHEREAS, Public Safety Telecommunicators of the Isle of Wight County Emergency
Communications Center have contributed substantially to the apprehension of
criminals, suppression of fires and treatment of patients; and,
WHEREAS, each dispatcher has exhibited compassion, understanding and
professionalism during the performance of their job in the past year.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT AND IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED by the Board of Supervisors
of the County of Isle of Wight, Virginia that the week of April 14-20, 2024, be
designated as National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week in honor of the men
and women whose diligence and professionalism keep our County and citizens safe.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board urges all citizens to take note of this
special week and give due honor to our County's Public Safety Telecommunicators.
The motion was unanimously adopted (5-0).
Assistant County Administrator Robertson requested direction from the Board
regarding how it would like to proceed with revising its Strategic Plan which was
adopted in 2013. He noted that the highlighted items contained in the agenda have
been accomplished and that he would recommend work on the Plan begin after
July.
The consensus of the Board was to update its Strategic Plan at a later time.
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Gerald H. Gwaltney, Commissioner of the Revenue, explained the advantages and
disadvantages associated with a desktop review of a County reassessment6 instead
of a full reassessment.
In his transmittal letter to the Board of the proposed FY2024-25 budget, County
Administrator Keaton advised that the proposed budget was prepared to meet the
needs of a growing community by providing cost efficient and effective public
services. The team of staff responsible for preparing the budget has attempted to
create a document that is transparent and understandable to every citizen and
addresses the basic responsibilities of local government. It will require an increase
in the tax rate from $.71 to $.76. One cent of real estate tax is expected to generate
$670,400. The personal property tax rate will remain at $4.50. The key priority for
the upcoming fiscal year is to fund the necessary functions of Isle of Wight County
while preparing for future needs. The General Fund operating budget totals
$104,987,352 of which the largest source of these funds is from General Property
taxes ($77.2 million) or 73.5% of the budget. The largest uses of County funds are
for Education ($33.5 million, 31.9%), Public Safety ($17.2 million, 16.4%), and Debt
Service ($12.9 million, 12.3%). A new item has been added this year to appropriate
$4 million from the Fund Balance and transfer those funds to our Capital Projects
Fund for one-time capital needs. Another option is for the Board to consider a bank
loan not to exceed $10 million for additional capital needs. Our goals include
diversifying our revenue sources to become less dependent on residential property
taxes and reducing debt service as a percentage of our expenditures. Under
revenue highlights, Real Property Taxes — Housing starts declined 22% in 2023.
There were 211 housing starts in 2023 compared to 269 in 2022. A significant
change in the type of housing is noted for 2023. For the first time, more
condo/townhouses (139 units - 52%) were built than regular single-family homes
(127 units - 48%). Commercial development and construction were basically non-
existent in FY23 and represented just over 1% of the total new construction
assessments. The forecast for FY25 includes increased new commercial
construction which is estimated to represent over 5% of new construction
assessments. A 3.1% increase in assessments is forecast for FY 25 with a total value
of $6,685,000,000 and revenue of $49,431,753 based on the proposed tax rate of
$.76 and a collection rate of 97.3%. Under Personal Property — Motor Vehicles —
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the value of used motor vehicles has levelled off in 2024 compared to the decline
in values for 2023 according to J.D. Power. The Car Tax Relief percentage decreased
from 37% to 33%. A 5% growth is forecast for FY 25 with revenue of $14,700,000
based on a 93.5% collection rate. Under Machinery & Tools Tax — the Machinery
and Tools category has experienced growth during the past three years. An increase
of 5% over current revenues for the M&T tax is expected to generate revenue of
$6,220,000. Under the Sales & Use Tax — the U.S. Supreme Court Case of South
Dakota v. Wayfair ruled that states may charge sales tax on purchases made from
out-of-state sellers. The 2019 Virginia General Assembly adopted legislation
enabling the Commonwealth to collect sales tax on out-of-state sellers. This has
resulted in an increase in sales tax for the state and localities. Online sales tax now
represents nearly 36% of all retail sales for Isle of Wight County. An increase of 2.3%
is forecast for the current fiscal year compared to last year. Based on this forecast
next year's revenue will generate $4,400,000 which is an increase of $100,000 over
the FY24 budget. Under Public Service Corporation Taxes — Public Service
assessments are adjusted annually based on the real estate sales ratio as
determined by the Department of Taxation. As a result of the general reassessment
of real estate in 2023 the county's sales ratio increased 26%. It is anticipated that
the assessments will increase 33% in the next fiscal year which will result in revenue
of $1,612,000. Regarding Recordation and Wills Tax — the tax on recordation of
real property has followed the real estate market and started to decline after
increases over several years. After collecting $852,700 in FY22, we saw a decline to
$586,902 in FY23. $600,000 is projected for FY25 which is a decrease of $100,000
over last year's budgeted amount. Under Building Permits — Building permit fee
revenue is a direct reflection of housing starts and construction activity throughout
the County. $511,000 was received in FY23 and we expect to collect more than
$500,000 in FY24. I am estimating $600,000 in FY25 which is an increase of
$200,000 over last year due to increased building activity and a proposed increase
in inspection fees. Under the Utilities Fund — due to a 5% increase in the price of
water from the Western Tidewater Water Authority, an 80-cent increase in the
price/1000 gallons of water is proposed. This will result in a monthly increase of
$4.00 or 5% for the typical customer who uses 5000 gals/month. Regarding
expenditure highlights, Public Schools — An increase of $2,750,000 is proposed in
local operating funds for the Isle of Wight County Public Schools. The local capital
maintenance appropriation is proposed to increase from $250,000 to $500,000.
$715,830 is included in debt service to finance $7.9 million in improvements at
Smithfield High School and Windsor High School for enhanced Career & Technical
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Program options for students. Under Public Safety — the budget continues the
replacement schedule for Sheriff's Office vehicles by lease financing 7 new vehicles.
Three new deputies for Court security are proposed in response to a request from
the Circuit Court judges because of a 50% increase in the number of jury trials in
the County. Under Fire and Rescue Response — a new initiative is proposed in the
Fire Rescue Department for Community Risk Reduction. The large warehouse fire
in January 2024 exposed a critical deficiency in the County's ability to be proactive
concerning life and safety. A new position has been included in the budget to start
in January and begin the process of creating a Fire Prevention Bureau. Under Public
Works —the bulk of the increase in Public Works is a result of an adjustment in part-
time salaries and overtime to catch up with salary increases over the last 2 years.
Under Debt Service — bonds totaling $18.5 million were issued in February 2022 to
fund the remainder of Hardy Elementary School, the replacement of Fire and
Rescue equipment and other County projects. Our total Debt Service budget for
the General Fund in FY25 will be $12.9 million. $7.6 million of the payments will be
for principal. Under Personnel, Isle of Wight County competes for employees
across the Hampton Roads region. We completed a new compensation study in
FY23 which brought our salary ranges more in line with our neighboring localities.
To maintain our competitiveness, I have included a 3.5% general wage increase for
all full-time and part-time employees. I am also proposing that we raise our
minimum wage to $13.50/hr. He concluded his presentation concerning the
County Health Plan experienced a moderate year with a 6% increase in rates. We
are continuing the same County/Employee cost sharing plan for health insurance
established in FY20. We are also continuing the High Deductible Health Plan (with
Health Savings Account) which was added last year. This plan has the potential to
provide savings for employees and the County. Under New Position, seven and 1/2
new full-time positions are proposed in the FY25 budget, Sheriff (3), Fire Rescue (1
%), Parks and Recreation (1), Commissioner of Revenue (1), and Treasurer (1). In
addition, I am also proposing to convert part-time positions into 3 full-time
positions in Fire Rescue. This continues a program that we have had for several
years to reduce our reliance on part-time employees due to the ongoing issue of
them being held over at their regular job and not being available for shifts in our
County. Funds have also been placed in the budget to overlap a position in Finance
due to an upcoming retirement. Under Fleet Upgrades, in addition to new vehicles
for the Sheriff's department, a total of 7 other vehicles are proposed to replace
aging or high mileage vehicles in the following departments: Public Works, Parks
and Recreation, Economic Development, Community Development, Tourism and
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Fire Rescue. Under the Capital Budget, consistent with the Board's adoption of the
FY25-34 Capital Improvements Program, a Capital Budget of $14.5 million is
included to move various capital projects forward. Significant capital expenditures
include Parks & Recreation $450,000, Utilities $1.5 million, and Schools $12.5
million.
The Capital Budget is fully funded with proposed financing, General Fund transfer,
and grants.
County Administrator Keaton concluded his presentation with acknowledgement
of all Constitutional Officers, Department Heads, and staff for submitting
conservative and well -researched budget requests. I have been impressed with the
creativity and cost -saving suggestions from all our staff. I would especially like to
thank Don Robertson, Stephanie Wells, Teresa Morgan, and Marina Hitchings for
organizing the budget requests and preparing multiple budget scenarios. This has
truly been a team effort.
Supervisor McCarty requested that he be provided with all of the Department
Heads notes and requests that were submitted.
County Administrator Keaton requested the Board to email any questions or
comments to him.
The following calendar was presented by County Administrator Keaton for review
and consideration of the budgets:
Thursday, April 111h at 6:00 p.m. — Budget Work Session
Thursday, April 181h at 5:00 p.m. — Budget Public Hearing
Thursday, April 25gh at 6:00 p.m. — Budget Work Session
Thursday, May 2d at 6:00 p.m. — Budget Work Session
Thursday, May 9th at 6:00 p.m. —Adoption of Proposed Operating & Capita
Budgets, Related Ordinances and CIP
Supervisor McCarty moved that the calendar be adopted which passed by
unanimous vote (5-0).
ADJOURNMENT
At 7:15 p.m., the work session was declared adjourned.
Don G. Rosie, II, Vice -Chairman
C OJUU.� I L-L 56 ,,
Carey Wlls rm, Clerk