Author: Gage Harter

84th Annual Conference Update

If you are attending VACo’s Annual Conference, here are some helpful suggestions to make your time at The Omni Homestead run smoothly. Please call 804.788.6652 with questions. UPON ARRIVAL Check-in time for your room is 4 p.m. Valet parking is included in the 15 percent daily charge that is automatically added to your room rate. […]

State General Fund Revenues Continue to Perform Well; Budget Preparations Underway

Governor Northam announced last week that September General Fund (GF) revenues grew 4 percent in September, and on a fiscal year-to-date basis, revenues have increased by 2.7 percent through September, surpassing the annual estimate of 1.5 percent growth. September’s healthy revenue collections were partially attributable to growth in individual income tax revenue, both withholding and […]

Draper Aden Associates 2018 Water and Wastewater Rate Report

Since 1989, Draper Aden Associates has prepared and distributed an annual Virginia Water and Wastewater Rate Report. This report asks municipalities to provide information concerning monthly residential water bills as well as all wastewater-related charges included on their customers’ bills. Experts at DAA analyze the data and compare it to former years in order to […]

Financial Facts

State and local government issuers would use a single method to report conduit debt and related obligations under a proposed new rule issue for Interpretation No. 2, Disclosure of Conduit Debt Obligations.  Conduit debt obligations are debt instruments issued by a state or local government to provide funding for a specific third party that is […]

2018 Presidential Initiative: Healthy Virginia Counties in Action – Spotlight on Economic Health

Throughout our explorations of various elements of community health – nutrition, physical activity, mental health, early childhood – financial well-being has been an ever-present factor, underlying questions of access to nutritious food, safe areas to exercise, mental health treatment, and high-quality pre-kindergarten programs. A maxim entering common circulation in the public health field is that […]

Visit Roanoke County and the Virginia’s Blue Ridge Water Tower

The 121-foot tall, 250,000-gallon, water tower was a joint project of the Western Virginia Water Authority and Roanoke County. The tower is located on the site of Roanoke County’s Green Ridge Recreation Center. The project cost approximately $900,000 and was completed in late 2016. The project improves water pressure in Roanoke County and the City […]

School Safety in Virginia Part 2. Virginia’s policies, methods, and protocols

School safety measures and the policy debates surrounding this issue have long been a part of our national conversation. In fact, American society has been widely concerned with protecting children from school-based violence for at least three decades now. High-profile tragedies, and the resulting desperate search for a universal remedy sometimes lead us to overlook […]

Body-Worn Camera Workgroup Begins Discussions

A workgroup convened by the Compensation Board held its first meeting last week to begin discussions about the effects of body-worn camera deployment on Commonwealth’s Attorneys’ offices. Language in the 2018 Appropriations Act directed the workgroup to “investigate how body-worn cameras have or may continue to impact the workloads experienced by Commonwealth’s Attorneys’ offices…and to […]

Go Green Awards Deadline Extended to October 12

Given the high level of participation and submissions, as well as the number of questions we’ve received, the deadline for VACo members to submit their scores for the 2018 Green Government Challenge has been extended by one week to October 12, 2018. The Challenge is a friendly competition designed to encourage implementation of specific policies […]

Proposed Children’s Services Act Policy Open for Public Comment

On September 20, the State Executive Council approved a 60-day public comment period on a proposed consolidated policy regarding the use of the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths Assessment (CANS), which is the designated uniform assessment instrument required to be administered in order for a child to be eligible for Children’s Services Act-funded services. […]