POSTED March 4
House budget: Teacher benefits payback provision
House budget Item 132 #9h sets the teacher rates for retirement, group life, and the retiree health care credit. It contains a local repayment provision. VACo has received several inquiries about the provision. The following communication attempts to explain it.
Read the rest of the story.
VACo Contact: Mike Edwards
POSTED March 4
Natural resources budget actions: FY 2011 to FY 2012 biennium
Click here to read about the House and Senate natural resources budget actions.
VACo Contact: Larry Land
POSTED March 4
Urban Development Areas (UDAs) budget analysis - House and Senate Feb. 26 reports
- House removes requirement that state-funded passenger rail service shall not serve any locality that has not designated the area around their train station as a UDA.
- Senate removes requirement that in awarding grants for new or expanded transit service, priority be given, among other criteria, to projects within UDAs.
- Remaining in both the House and Senate budgets
- VDOT may give higher priority for planning grants to localities that designate UDAs.
- DEQ cannot award WQIF grants after July 1, 2011, to localities required to designated UDAs but have not yet done so by that date.
VACo Contact: Ted McCormack
POSTED March 3
VACo's budget letter on health and human resources
Dear Mr. Chairman,
Knowing this biennial budget requires tough decisions in funding programs and
providing support to localities delivering services, please understand that your
decisions along with local decisions could have an impact on the quality of life
for many of the Commonwealth's most vulnerable citizens.
Thank you for minimizing funding reductions in health and human services in FY
2010 when ARRA funds became available. This year proves most difficult when
confronted with the impact of a $2 billion budget hole. We all understand the
budget (FY 2011 and FY 2012) reported by both houses relies heavily on VRS
funds to fill important gaps in K·12, Compensation Board agencies, public safety
and higher education.
Read the rest of the letter.
VACo Contact: Dean Lynch
POSTED March 2
VACo releases budget letter to GA; denounces changes to the Communications Trust Fund and addresses K-12 funding and revenues
Action
Earlier today, VACo released its annual budget letter to the General Assembly’s budget conferees. VACo members are urged to send a similar letter to conferees and their legislators. The conferees are charged with reaching a budget agreement.
Talking points
VACo’s letter outlines key concerns and priorities including:
Opposing the proposed transfer of Communication Sales and Use Trust Funds to support treasurers and commissioners of the revenue: The House appropriates $40 million from the fund.
Supporting higher K-12 public education appropriation funding levels: The Senate provides $360 million more in FY 2011.
Supporting the enactment of fees generating more than $170 million next biennium: The Senate uses the fees, including a new tax of property insurance premiums and increased court filing fees, to protect the general fund and state mandated services including compensation board requirements and 599 funding.
Key information
The communications industry is joining VACo and VML in opposing the transfer of Communications Sales and Use Tax Trust Funds.
In a letter to the members of the legislature, the industry writes: “Unfortunately, language contained in the House budget causes localities to lose this committed revenue. Our organizations respectfully request that you honor the commitments made to local governments in 2006 by rejecting the proposal in the House budget and restoring this revenue to local governments.”
All 95 counties are urged to send the GA a budget letter. Please include VACo’s key issues. These letters are important and can make a difference. Please do your letter ASAP!
Read VACo’s letter to the Conferees.
VACo Contacts: Dean Lynch and Mike Edwards
POSTED March 2
Health and Human Resources budget analysis--House and Senate reports, Feb. 26
Health Department (Environmental Health Services)
The House restores $3.7 million each year from the general fund and reduces $3.7 million each year in nongeneral funds from fee revenue for environmental health services in the Health Department that was in the introduced budget.
The amendment also strikes language in the introduced budget which increased fees for environmental health services, including on-site sewage systems, private wells, restaurants, hotels, campgrounds, and summer camps. The Senate made no changes to the introduced bill.
Click here to read the rest of the report.
VACo Contact: Dean Lynch
POSTED Feb. 25
Compensation Board spreadsheet comparing House and Senate budget amendments
The Compensation Board has released a spreadsheet detailing and comparing House and Senate budget amendments. When reading the document it is important to note that the spreadsheet does not address the sources of funding.
Click here to read rest of the story.
VACo Contact: Dean Lynch
POSTED Feb. 22
House and Senate release budgets
Click here to read story.
VACo Contacts: Dean Lynch and Mike Edwards
POSTED Feb. 17
Gov. McDonnell updates state revenue projections; sends letter to legislators formally outlining comprehensive cost saving options for budget
Governor's budget letter, revenue projections and cost savings breakdown linked
Please find linked the most recent press release (Feb. 17) from Gov. Bob McDonnell, as well as accompanying information on his proposed budget cuts. VACo will summarize this information as soon as possible, but felt you might want to receive the original documents.
Press release
Governor's budget letter
Revenue projections
Cost savings breakdown
VACo Contact: Dean Lynch
POSTED Feb. 16
Fiscal Analytics Estimate – FY2011 Funding Reductions
Jim Regimbal, Fiscal Analytics, has offered a funding reduction estimate (based on the introduced budget) county by county in several state aid programs. The spreadsheet is offered for information only and is subject to change based on each legislative house reporting out their own budgets on Sunday, Feb. 21. The reduction estimate includes the impact of the state cuts on the local real estate tax rate.
VACo Contact: Dean Lynch
POSTED Feb. 1
VACo provides model impact of HB 1150
HB 1150 (J. Scott) authorizes any county or city to levy an additional local sales and use tax at a rate of 0.5 percent with all revenue generated from such tax to be used for education purposes.
VACo has modeled the impact of the bill, which is in the House Finance Committee.
VACo Contact: Mike Edwards
POSTED Jan. 28
VACo/VML send letter to House Speaker regarding local budget decisions
VACo/VML have urged Del. William J. Howell to hold legislation that negatively affects local revenues or that imposes or expands the services cities, counties and towns must provide. The “hold” would last until an overall budget strategy is developed.
VACo/VML stressed that local governments are struggling to manage their budgets in light of decreasing or stagnant local and state revenues.
VACo/VML offered a partial list of bills in the House that fall into that category.
Read VACo’s letter to the Speaker Howell.
Read the partial list of bills that negatively affect local revenues or place new responsibilities on local governments.
POSTED Jan. 27
Proposal eliminates the Schools' Triennial Census: Counties must be aware of financial impacts; bills creat "winners and losers"
SB 423 (Vogel) and HB 669 (May) eliminate the triennial census used to determine School Age Population (SAP). The bills replace the census count with the Average Daily Membership (ADM). School divisions must undertake the triennial census every three years. The process is intended to count those between the ages of 5 and 19 and used to distribute the state sales tax dedicated to public education. The triennial census includes children of school age who are home schooled or in private schools, while ADM is a state count of students actually attending public schools. Therefore, a change creates “winners and losers.”
Fiscal Analytics has produced a locality-by-locality calculation modeling the funding change.
The Senate Education and Health Committee may act on SB 423 this Thursday, Jan. 29. The House Education Committee has referred HB 669 to a subcommittee that meets on Tuesday mornings. The subcommittee intends to act on the bill Tuesday, Feb. 2.
VACo members are urged to assess the impact of the bills and advise their legislators. For obvious reason, VACo cannot take a position on the legislation.
POSTED Jan. 21
VACo communicates budget principles to General Assembly
VACo delivered a budget letter to the chairmen of the General Assembly’s money committees and all members of the General Assembly on Wednesday, Jan. 20. The correspondence, written by President Phillip A. Bradshaw (Isle of Wight), outlines key local government principles and is intended to help guide state leaders as they adopt the state budget.
The letter remains faithful to VACo’s 2010 Legislative Priorities.
Read the Budget Letter.
POSTED Jan. 19
Retirement bills being reviewed by Appropriations and Finance
The following bills rest in "money committee coffers" and relate to the benefits of eligible law enforcement personnel and qualified personnel in the Virginia Retirement System (VRS).
Read Dean Lynch's report.
POSTED Jan. 15
VACo/VML DPB budget briefing
Summary of Caboose Operating Recommendations
Summary of Operating Recommendations
State agency Web sites on the budget
POSTED Jan. 12
Constitutional officer funding spreadsheets (locality by locality)
From Comp Board Staff: Please note that these spreadsheets contain preliminary staff estimates based upon analysis that Comp Board staff has been able to complete thus far, and also that these staff estimates are of the potential impact of the proposed budget at the local level, based upon their current interpretation of the proposals, and not Compensation Board approved implementation strategies. There may still be outstanding technical issues identified, legislative changes to the proposals that could affect these estimated distributions, and the Board may not act on budget bill proposals until after legislative action in the 2010 session of the General Assembly.
Click here to read entire Comp Board memo.
POSTED Jan. 11
A MUST READ: VACo's budget summary by Mike Edwards, Dean Lynch and Larry Land
The economic downturn continues to negatively impact state revenue growth and in turn available funding for Virginia’s core services. As stated in a Gov. Timothy M. Kaine budget summary document, “… the revenue forecast for FY 2012 is for fewer general fund dollars than FY 2007” and “…overall state aid to localities is reduced by $2.6 billion, through cuts in education, public safety, and other programs.”
Click here to read entire budget summary.
