VACo Receives 145 Submissions for the Achievement Awards Program
Three stacks of 145 Achievement Awards submissions waiting for the judges to grade. (We also created an electronic database of all the entries.) The judges for this year are Charles Hartgrove, ICMA-CM, Director of the Virginia Institute of Government; Dr. Sheryl Bailey, Visiting Professor of Practice at Virginia Tech, and former Chesterfield County Deputy County […]
JLARC Presents VRS Oversight Report
As part of its July 1 meeting, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) presented an oversight report of the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) as required by the Code of Virginia. The health and well-being of VRS is important to local governments as it administers retirement programs and other benefit programs for state and […]
OSHA Proposes New Emergency Response Standard for Fire Brigades that Creates Potential Unfunded Mandates
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is proposing a rule to modernize protections for emergency response workers, who often face substantial occupational hazards. This long-developed proposal, officially published in the Federal Register on February 5, 2024, though laudable in its intent, poses potential challenges for local fire organizations and local governments if implemented in its […]
Visit Nelson County and the Nelson County Historic Courthouse
Photo Credit: John Deacon | American Courthouses Location: 84 Court Street / Main StreetBuilt: 1808 – 1810Style: Greek RevivalArchitect: Sheldon CrostwaitContractor: George Varnum Description: The building faces south and is a two-story white colored stuccoed brick structure. The rectangular shaped building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Lovingston with the new courthouse […]
VACo Appoints Katie Boyle as Deputy Director
RICHMOND (June 21, 2024)—The Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) is pleased to announce the appointment of Katie Boyle as Deputy Director. Boyle joined VACo on July 1, 2016, and has been an integral part of the advocacy team as Director of Government Affairs covering finance, elections, and health and human resources. “Katie is an outstanding […]
Visit Montgomery County and the Old Montgomery County Courthouse
Location: 1 East Main Street / South Franklin StreetBuilt: 1974 – 1976Style: Modern / BrutalistArchitect: Scherertz-FranklinContractor: Graves Construction Company Description: The building faces south and is a four story buff colored brick, concrete and glass structure. The building is located on the landscaped grounds of the Courthouse Square in the center of Christiansburg. The south […]
Public Comment Period Now Open on Proposed Children’s Services Act Policy Regarding Submission of Reimbursement Requests; VACo Seeks County Feedback on Proposal
At its June 13 meeting, the State Executive Council (SEC) approved submission of a revised draft of SEC Policy 4.5.2 for a second period of public comment, which will close on August 16, 2024. The proposed revisions to the policy, which may be found at this link, stem from discussions at the SEC at its […]
Office of Children’s Services Proposes Streamlined Method for Providing Reimbursements to Localities; County Feedback Sought
The Office of Children’s Services (OCS) recently announced a proposal to streamline the process of providing reimbursements to localities from state pool funding. Under current budget language, the state allocates an initial distribution of funds to each locality based on the greater of (i) that locality’s percentage of 1997 CSA pool fund program expenditures (relative […]
Office of Children’s Services Seeks Public Comment by August 1 on Proposed Repeal of Policy 4.3 – “Carve Out” of Allocation for Development of New/Expanded Services
On June 13, the State Executive Council approved circulating for an initial public comment period a proposal to repeal SEC Policy 4.3. After this initial 45-day public comment period, which will close on August 1, the SEC will determine whether to move forward with a specific policy proposal; if so, there will be an additional […]
Chesterfield County Hosts Behavioral Health Commission
The Behavioral Health Commission met on June 22 at Chesterfield County’s Eanes Pittman Public Safety Training Center to receive a briefing from Chesterfield County Sheriff Karl Leonard and his staff about their efforts to provide mental health treatment and to support recovery within the jail. Commission members also adopted a work plan for the remainder […]
State General Fund Revenues Continue to Exceed Expectations in May
Earlier this week, Governor Youngkin released the most recent monthly report from Secretary of Finance Stephen Cummings on state General Fund revenues, which continued to perform well in May, led by a strong showing in individual income tax collections. Total General Fund revenues were up by 14.2 percent in May; on a fiscal year-to-date basis, […]
Visit Middlesex County and the Middlesex County Historic Courthouse
PHOTO CREDIT: Calder Loth, 2023 Virginia Department of Historic Resources Location: NE – School Street / Gloucester Road Built: 1852 – 1853 Style: Colonial Revival Architect: John P Hill Contractor: John P Hill Description: The building faces south and is a two story red colored brick structure. The south front has three large arches along […]
Premier Partner Spotlight – Blue Line Solutions Testimonials
Blue Line Solutions is making a positive impact on communities all over Virginia. In Smyth County – Blue Line Solutions recorded during a five-day period that there were 3,530 vehicles traveling through school speed zones at 10mph or higher above the speed limit. That’s over 12,000 speeding vehicles a month during school days. Blue Line […]
April is a “Solid Month” for State Revenues
State General Fund revenues continued to perform well in April, which Secretary of Finance Stephen E. Cummings characterized as a “solid month” for revenue collections in his remarks to the House Appropriations Committee on May 28. Although total General Fund revenues declined by 1 percent in April, revenues outperformed expectations for the month by $162.6 […]
Behavioral Health Commission Sets Preliminary Course for 2024
After an initial organizational meeting of the full Behavioral Health Commission in May, which included a preliminary discussion of its 2024 workplan, the Commission’s Executive Committee met on June 3 to refine the proposed set of studies for the year and adopt a preliminary study plan to recommend to the full Commission. The full Commission […]
JLARC Adopts Workplan for 2024
The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) met on May 21 and formally approved its plan of work for the remainder of the year. Planned studies include several items of interest to local governments: Data centers: The Commission’s study resolution directs staff to review the overall impacts of the data center industry in Virginia, […]