Visit Northumberland County and the LOVEworks Sign
Northern Neck Farm Museum, a five county regional museum fashioned to tell the story of agriculture in the Northern Neck, shows its “LOVE” with a giant ear of corn designed by a local student, Jamel Brown and sculpted from iron. The Northern Neck of Virginia has a rich agricultural tradition. From the early American Indians […]
Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz Appoints Samia Byrd as Chief Race and Equity Officer
As the Chief Race and Equity Officer for Arlington County, Samia Byrd will lead the County’s work to advance racial equity, diversity and inclusion both internal and external to the organization. This includes guiding and facilitating the development and implementation of important policies and practices through an equity lens. “Samia will be instrumental to helping […]
Local Government Recovery Task Force Meets with Governor’s Staff
The Local Government Recovery Task Force, a joint effort by VACo and VML to provide a local perspective as Virginia works to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, held its second meeting on July 14. Members were pleased to be joined by Courtney Dozier, Policy Director for Governor Northam, and Carter Hutchinson, Deputy Policy Director, who […]
Virginia Housing’s Community Impact Grants help James City County plan for affordable housing
Virginia Housing’s Community Impact Grant program is helping one of the fastest growing counties in the Commonwealth prepare for its future affordable housing needs. The northernmost locality in Hampton Roads, located halfway between Virginia Beach and Richmond, James City County is an attractive community for new residents. So attractive that according to census data, the […]
JLARC Presents 2020 Workplan
The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) met July 6 to approve a plan of work and schedule of reports for the remainder of 2020, and to receive briefings on the status of the Virginia Retirement System and the Virginia529 program. JLARC will be conducting several studies of particular interest to local governments this […]
Virginia joins Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)
After years of legislative efforts and debate, Governor Northam has announced that Virginia is finally set to officially join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, becoming the first southern state to enter the collaborative program. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, is a market-based program amongst several Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states with the goal of […]
JLARC Presents VRS Oversight Report
As part of their July 6 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 […]
Governor Releases Preliminary FY 2020 Revenue Figures
Governor Northam announced on July 9 that Virginia’s FY 2020 shortfall was smaller than originally anticipated, with a General Fund (GF) deficit of approximately $236.5 million rather than the $1 billion that was initially feared earlier in the year. Revenue collections grew by 2 percent relative to FY 2019, but trailed the projections of 3.1 […]
Treasury Provides Additional Guidance on Coronavirus Relief Fund
The Department of the Treasury issued updated guidance on the timing of expenditure of Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars on June 30 and provided an additional answer to its list of Frequently Asked Questions on July 8. The new guidance pertains to the requirement that Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars may only be used to cover costs […]
Virginia Freedom of Information Act for Local Elected Officials
NOTE | UPDATE To all interested parties: We are aware that some users have had buffering issues with the local elected officials FOIA training course we recently launched, while the training has worked for others without any problems. A new version of the course has been published to the FOIA Training page that should resolve the […]
VACo Hosts Virginia Employment Commission Unemployment Insurance Webinar
On July 1, VACo hosted a webinar with staff from the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) to discuss the approximately 877,000 unemployment claims that been filed in Virginia since March 15 as a result of the impacts of COVID-19 and other economic factors. As the nation struggles to recover from unemployment rates not seen since the […]
VACo tours site of 2020 Annual Conference – Hilton Norfolk The Main
The Hilton Norfolk The Main will be the host hotel for this year’s VACo Annual Conference on November 8-10. We made the temporary move because the Omni Homestead is undergoing major room renovations and could not accommodate our conference this year. VACo toured the hotel on June 22 and came away impressed and excited. Hilton […]
Carol Cameron retires after years of dedication to VACo members
A lifetime of work inevitably leaves its mark. In Carol Cameron’s case – her labor has left an imprint that will last for many years to come. Carol retired on June 30 after 14 years with VACo. She started as an administrative assistant but soon was promoted into her role as Director of Member Services. […]
Powhatan County Hires County Administrator
POWHATAN, VA – Edward N. (“Ned”) Smither will assume the position of County Administrator for Powhatan County on August 1, 2020. Smither brings over 16 years of local government experience, the last three of which were as the Director of Finance in Henrico County, Virginia. As Henrico’s Director of Finance, Smither was responsible for the […]
Visit Wythe County and the Love Works Sign
The letters honor aspects of Wytheville’s history that have made an impact on the community. L represents the influence of the railroad. O showcases a hot air balloon, used in the town’s elevated water tank in honor of the annual Chautauqua Festival. V depicts the crossroads of two interstates, I-77 and I-81, as well as […]
Additional Local Revenues for School Capital Costs – the Halifax Model
Sources of funding for K-12 school renovation, modernization, and construction costs continue to be a challenge for many localities in Virginia. However, one locality in Virginia has taken an innovative approach to raising additional local revenues for school capital needs that does not involve raising property taxes. Legislation enacted during the 2019 General Assembly session […]