VACo held its tenth Regional Meeting of the year on September 18 in Shenandoah County. Counties from across VACo Region 6 and 9, as well as elected officials and their staff from around the region, were invited to participate in the discussion.
The meeting began with County Talk, which is the section of the meeting where county leaders outline the top legislative issues affecting their county. A robust discussion was held with many counties sharing common issues. A top concern for counties in these regions was retaining local land use authority. Counties agreed that local governments should retain local land use authority as this area of the Commonwealth faces pressures from various industries and uses. Counties discussed major concern surrounding the level of state support given to fire and EMS services as training and equipment mandates are a burden on to localities; coupled with declining rates of volunteerism seen throughout the region. State support for roads, infrastructure and schools was another common point of concern. At the meeting, counties would offer support for the 1% local option for school capital and stressed the need for rural road funding as well as water, sewer and broadband infrastructure funding.
VACo was pleased to be joined by Delegate Tony Wilt who took time to respond to what issues counties face and outline some of his priorities as we head toward the 2026 Session. Delegate Wilt outline his support for local land use authority to remain at the local level and appreciated hearing what localities in his part of the Commonwealth are struggling with as he is still developing his legislative agenda.
Lastly, VACo was pleased to be joined by staff from the Virginia Cooperative Extension. Our friends from the Extension gave a great presentation about the incredible work they do and how they are always willing and able to assist counties regarding agriculture, forestry, natural resources, health and wellbeing, local food systems, etc. For a link to their presentation, click here.
VACo staff would like to give a special thanks to the VACo members, legislators, partners, and others who attended and participated in the discussion. This meeting concludes the VACo regional meeting calendar for the year and all of us at VACo want to say thank you to all those who hosted, spoke at and participated in these meetings over the last few months. We are looking forward to visiting counties and discussing the issues important to county leaders in 2026.
VACo Contact: James Hutzler