COME DANCE WITH US! This Saturday, January 26th - Rural Nelson's First Community Dance Party - "From Aretha to Ziggy" with Guest DJ's - at The Hamner Theater at the Rockfish Valley Community Center. Doors open at 8:00pm with a $5 - $10 suggested donation to benefit Rural Nelson. Cash Bar to benefit The Hamner Theater. 21 and over please. http://www.ruralnelson.org/RNDanceParty0801.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ UPCOMING: - Tuesday, February 5th - PLANNING COMMISSION WORK SESSION - 7:30pm Courthouse - Tuesday, February 12th - BOARD OF SUPERVISORS 2:00/7:30pm - Courthouse ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ NOTE: We realize that our webmail program is sending out duplicate reports to each of you. We are working to fix the problem and apologize for any inconvenience. BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Thursday, January 24, 2008 Present: Mr. Tommy Harvey, Mr. Allen Hale, Mr. Tommy Bruguiere and Mr. Joe Dan Johnson Absent: Ms. Connie Brennan APPOINTMENT/BOARD OF EQUALIZATION - Supervisors voted unanimously to appoint Mr. John T. Wheaton as the West District representative to the Board. SOLID WASTE OPERATIONS - Ms. Susan McSwain (Solid Waste & Recycling Coordinator) reported that Nelson is participating in a joint bid for solid waste equipment with Amherst and Appomattox Counties to obtain lower pricing, with an advanced bid issue date of two weeks. New equipment for the Massies Mill and Shipman sites should arrive in early March. She noted that the search for a Faber site continues. Ms. McSwain reported that six convenience site employees have been hired and will begin training in early February. Ms. McSwain asked the Supervisors to consider closing all staffed sites on Mondays, noting that there would be a savings of approximately $5,000/year per site; it would provide a day for maintenance on the compactors and allow time for truck drivers to haul the accumulated weekend trash. Mr. Harvey said that the only statistics available are on the Rockfish site and he would prefer to wait until the other two sites are up and running to make that decision. Ms. McSwain suggested that hiring staff for the new sites and then cutting their hours to close on Mondays could be a problem. Supervisors agreed to table the issue for further consideration. Ms. McSwain reported that a joint bid for trucks for hauling will be issued with Amherst and that a request has been made for Region 2000 to take over responsibility for both drivers and trucks after start-up in July. She noted that staff will be meeting with Tim Castillo (Nelson County Service Authority) in early February to look at a possible convenience center site near the Wintergreen gate. She reported that the plan includes closing the Blackrock Circle site in July. Mr. Harvey said that staff should talk with WPOA now rather than waiting until July. Ms. McSwain noted that the current Waste Management contract costs the school system $20,000/year including the rental on front-end load cans and hauling to the Transfer Station. She reported that 3 self-contained compactors could be purchased for $17,500 each and would pay for themselves in just over 2 ½ years with the county hauling the units. She noted that staff will be meeting with the School Superintendent to discuss the issue. And finally, she reported that staff will be meeting with the owners of the Montebello site to discuss hooking up power for a compactor. FY08-09 BUDGET/2008 GENERAL REASSESSMENT - Ms. Candy McGarry presented a reassessment analysis (Note: based on projected reassessment figures as final numbers have not yet been received from the assessors). She reported the following: Total 2008 RE taxes (based on $.72 tax rate) $25,432,630 Land Use Adjustment -$4,190,677 Estimated Elderly & Disabled Adjustment -$83,903 Total Adjusted 2008 RE Taxes (based on $.72 tax rate) $21,158,049 Adjusted Total based on a 90% Collection Rate $19,042,244 (Historical Collection Rate is 93% and another 3% less in reassessment years) FY08 RE Tax Revenue as budgeted $11,084,498 FY09 New RE Tax Revenue $7,957,746 FY09 NEW RE TAX REVENUE UTILIZATION: - Annual Courthouse Debt ($10.5M at 5.5% for 20 Years) $866,738 (Note: assumes worst-case financing package) - FY09 Gen Fun Budgetary Increase (4.6% over $24,821,954) $1,141,810 (Note: based on historical annual growth rate in expenditures) - Total New FY09 RE Tax Revenue Utilized $2,008,548 TOTAL FY09 RE TAX REVENUE UTILIZED (FY08 Budgeted + New FY09) $13,093,046 EQUIVALENT TAX RATE $0.4456 (a $0.2744 reduction in the current tax rate) Ms. McGarry reported that the analysis presented does not include any decreased state funding to the schools, which could be $300,000 to $500,000. Ms. Debbie McCann, Director of Finance, presented projected revenues without reassessment, noting a decrease of 0.1% in state funding and a decrease of 0.7% in federal funding. Local revenues are projected to increase by 1.5% resulting in an overall revenue increase of 1.3%. Mr. Carter noted that the Board will need to set the date for the Reassessment Public Hearing at their February 12th meeting. He reported that the Board will have to work through the budget before that public hearing as state code requires that the advertisement include a proposed tax rate. A tentative timetable was set for advertisement in early March followed by the public hearing sometime during the second week of April. Supervisors agreed to set dates for budget work sessions at their February 12th meeting. BOARD RETREAT - Supervisors tabled this issue to work on the budget. Meeting adjourned. Copyright 2000-2008 by Rural Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Reports may be reprinted or excerpted with attribution. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ OF INTEREST: - Wednesday, February 20th - 4:00pm-7:00pm Region 2000 Regional Water Supply Stakeholder Workshop - informational session and a time for input from interested public. Location: Lynchburg Public Library. - "A Cradle of Democracy" - A Winter Lecture Performance sponsored by The Wintergreen Nature Foundation and the Historical Society of Nelson County. Performances at the Nelson County High School Auditorium. For reservations, call The Wintergreen Nature Foundation at 434.325.8169 or online at www.twnf.org. - Saturday, January 26th - 7:00pm - "The Times That Tried the Souls of Men" - Saturday, February 9th - 7:00pm - "Virginia's Leadership & the Struggles of a New Nation" - Saturday, February 23rd - 7:00pm - "A Time of Celebration" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This report, sent to over 600 Nelson County citizens, was made possible by the generous donations of Rural Nelson members and supporters. We need your help to continue this service. Please consider donating. Kim T. Cash Field Officer Rural Nelson, Inc. P. O. Box 401 Lovingston, VA 22949 434.263.5000 www.ruralnelson.org