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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Albemarle County Board of Supervisors FY26 Budget Work Session – March 12, 2025

Board of Supervisors — Wednesday, March 12, 2025

BodyAlbemarle County, Virginia

SessionBoard of Supervisors

DateWednesday, March 12, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 3:01:20

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:01

Good afternoon.

0:02

Call to order this March 12th, 2025 meeting of the report of supervisors at 3 p.m.

0:08

in room 241 Actar Office Coding.

0:12

Supervisor Ann Mallet of the Whitehall District, Supervisor Met California, Mayo District.

0:19

Supervisor Eastern Currently Ravana District Forum is present.

0:27

To see whether we also have with us, Mr.

0:32

Jeff Richardson, the county executive.

0:36

Mr.

0:36

Handy Here, or County Attorney, Claudia Markerson, our clerk, Travis Morris, our deputy clerk.

0:44

Also here at the table.

0:50

Welcome.

0:51

Christie Schuffler, Chief Operating Officer.

0:53

Jacob Summer, Chief Financial Officer.

0:54

Andy Bowman, Assistant Chief Financial Officer.

0:58

Welcome.

0:58

Thank you for being here.

1:00

Also want to thank our Elbow County Police Officers.

1:03

Present, Officer Taylor and Richardson and Master Police Officer Dana Reeves.

1:07

Again, thank you for your service today and every day.

1:09

Staff the citizens of County.

1:12

I want to remind everybody as we get started to speak towards the ceiling, which is where the microphones are.

1:18

So literally speaking.

1:22

And with that, I believe we can begin by turning it over to Mr.

1:27

Bowman.

1:28

Welcome.

1:29

Good afternoon to the board and the chair, and thank you for the introduction.

1:34

It starts today, the second work session on the fiscal year 26 recommended budget.

1:38

Again, looking at the calendar we have ahead of us.

1:42

No action is requested by the board of supervisors today or Monday.

1:45

Again, as I said last uh the last Monday on the 19th, the board will be asked to take action to propose a budget and tax rate.

1:53

If you're just tuning in online, the significance of that is the board will be able to adopt a tax rate at what they've advertised or less, but not exceed that.

2:02

Also, next week we'll be kicking off the seven town halls throughout the county over the following weeks and the effort that it goes with that.

2:11

So just another recap of the process.

2:14

Staff is going to present information at a summary level today.

2:17

I'll share it on Monday.

2:18

We spent a lot of time going into depth in a few chapters, really with those that were driving the tax rates.

2:23

There are a lot more chapters today, and there will be definitely times we slow down to talk about affordable housing and climate and uh the health fund and some other notable topics.

2:32

Um but some of the pace of the chapters will be quicker in staff's presentation than it was.

2:37

Uh because there are more chapters, but the good news for the board is staff has less slides to present today by about 11.

2:42

So that's that's always a good milestone.

2:45

Uh as always, we're listening for the board for any questions or other potential adjustments that the board may like to see in the budget.

2:52

And if uh you're tuning in, uh anything not answered in the meeting, it's posted on the website for transparency.

2:59

Uh so with that, here's today's agenda.

3:02

And we've shuffled this around a little bit in the order of the book, but the actual the very first thing I want to do is to continue the conversation from the end of Monday's work session about the allocation of shared revenues and how that 3.2 cents for public safety works in the future.

3:15

Um so I'll uh we've done some uh some analysis of that to report back to the board and ask the board for a little bit of direction as we move forward.

3:22

Uh we'll then move through uh the chapters.

3:24

If the board would like a break before we get to health and welfare, would be the uh the best spot.

3:34

Executive director, Bill Moyer is here, Khaki Demick and Emily Kilroy and uh Mr.

3:39

Davidson will all take that seat at some point today.

3:42

Um I will share that uh there's a lot here, and staff does not want to rush the board's deliberation.

3:46

Uh so if all we get through in health and welfare is today, I would say that's okay.

3:50

We'll pick up the rest on either the 17th and 19th.

3:52

Those last three chapters don't drive the budget in the way that some of the earlier topics do.

3:56

Um so we have a lot to cover, but certainly this is the board's time, but we will give that time for the discussion discussion that the board needs to have.

4:06

So uh I'll dive right into this, picking up where we left off on this allocation of shared revenue.

4:11

Uh this is just a reference slide.

4:12

The board saw the exact same one on Monday that discussed when we have our shared revenue.

4:17

Uh how do we share that with public school operations, county government operations, and the joint CIP and vet service funds.

4:24

And uh what we talked about is how that funding was going to be allocated in uh fiscal year 26 with 3.2 cents to public safety.

4:31

And we discussed in depth the cost that was supported.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Affordable Housing██████████████████18%

Public Health█████████████13%

Fiscal Sustainability████████████12%

Economic Development███████████11%

Budget Equity Analysis████████8%

Climate Action███████7%

Public Schools██████6%

Public Works██████6%

Workforce Development█████5%

Summary of Proceedings

Albemarle County Board of Supervisors FY26 Budget Work Session – March 12, 2025

The Board of Supervisors held the second work session on the Fiscal Year 2026 recommended budget on March 12, 2025. The meeting focused on the allocation of shared revenues, health fund challenges, climate action, affordable housing investments, and the economic development fund. No formal votes were taken; board direction is expected on March 19, 2025, when a proposed budget and tax rate will be advertised.

Discussion Items

Allocation of Shared Revenues (3.2 cents for Public Safety): Staff presented two options for future allocation of the 3.2 cents dedicated to public safety in FY26. Option A would split the growth of that revenue using the standard 54% schools, 36% county government, 10% capital/debt split. Option B would dedicate 100% of the growth to public safety. Under an illustrative 4.9% revenue growth, Option B would provide approximately $300,000 more annually for public safety compared to Option A. Board members expressed differing views: Supervisors McKeel and LaPisto voiced support for Option B; Supervisor Andrews supported Option A for consistency; Supervisor Galloway requested more strategic analysis before deciding; Supervisor Pruitt also leaned toward Option A. No consensus was reached; staff will prepare additional analysis for the March 17 work session.
Compensation & Health Fund: Chief Operating Officer Christie Schuffler outlined compensation changes: a 3% cost-of-living adjustment for all staff, a 2% step increase for public safety, and expansion of police/fire rescue pay scales from 26 to 30 steps. The health fund faces a 24% increase in costs and a $9 million one-time transfer to replenish reserves, which have fallen to less than 5% of expenditures. Staff explained that expenditures have grown 16% annually on average, driven by high-cost claimants. The new employee health clinic has had 152 visits in its first month and is expected to moderate future cost increases. The second clinic is on track for mid-April.
Climate Action & Environmental Sustainability: Staff reported that an EPA climate resilience cohort grant of $460,000 has been rescinded by the federal government, though funds spent to date are recoverable. The FY26 budget includes ongoing funding for environmental services ($100,000 for climate initiatives), a $200,000 unallocated climate reserve, and continuation of the septic-to-sewer program. The water resources reserve (funded by 0.7 cents of the tax rate) supports stormwater maintenance and capital projects.
Affordable Housing: The recommended budget dedicates 0.4 cents of the tax rate ($1.2 million ongoing) and a one-time $3 million transfer to the Affordable Housing Investment Fund (AHIF). The AHIF currently has $200,000 unallocated; with the new funding, the balance would reach $4.4 million. From 2019 to 2025, the county has invested $68 million in the housing continuum, including federal pass-through funds. The pipeline includes over 2,500 affordable units, but only those actually built count toward the goal of 10,000 units by 2040. Multiple board members expressed interest in increasing funding and discussing a formal housing trust fund later this spring.
Economic Development Fund: The fund has $3.3 million unallocated; the budget recommends adding $1 million to bring the total to $4.3 million. Past uses include grants for the Afton Scientific project, site readiness (Rivanna Futures), and workforce development. Board members noted the fund’s importance for leveraging state and federal grants and reacting quickly to economic opportunities. Supervisor Pruitt expressed that the current balance may be sufficient without an additional transfer this year.
Tipping Fees: Bill Moyer of the Rivanna Solid Waste Authority proposed a $2 per ton increase (from $58 to $60) to keep pace with market averages and inflation. The board generally supported the increase.

Key Outcomes

No votes were taken; the board will continue work sessions on March 17 (with school board and CIP discussion) and March 19 (proposed budget and tax rate advertisement).
Staff will provide additional analysis on the shared revenue allocation options (Option A vs. B) and a comparison of housing trust fund structures.
The board acknowledged the need for a formal housing trust fund discussion after the budget cycle.
A federal climate grant rescission was noted; staff will update the board on any further impacts.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon. Call to order this March 12th, 2025 meeting of the report of supervisors at 3 p.m. in room 241 Actar Office Coding. Supervisor Ann Mallet of the Whitehall District, Supervisor Met California, Mayo District. Supervisor Eastern Currently Ravana District Forum is present. To see whether we also have with us, Mr. Jeff Richardson, the county executive. Mr. Handy Here, or County Attorney, Claudia Markerson, our clerk, Travis Morris, our deputy clerk. Also here at the table. Welcome. Christie Schuffler, Chief Operating Officer. Jacob Summer, Chief Financial Officer. Andy Bowman, Assistant Chief Financial Officer. Welcome. Thank you for being here. Also want to thank our Elbow County Police Officers. Present, Officer Taylor and Richardson and Master Police Officer Dana Reeves. Again, thank you for your service today and every day. Staff the citizens of County. I want to remind everybody as we get started to speak towards the ceiling, which is where the microphones are. So literally speaking. And with that, I believe we can begin by turning it over to Mr. Bowman. Welcome. Good afternoon to the board and the chair, and thank you for the introduction. It starts today, the second work session on the fiscal year 26 recommended budget. Again, looking at the calendar we have ahead of us. No action is requested by the board of supervisors today or Monday. Again, as I said last uh the last Monday on the 19th, the board will be asked to take action to propose a budget and tax rate. If you're just tuning in online, the significance of that is the board will be able to adopt a tax rate at what they've advertised or less, but not exceed that. Also, next week we'll be kicking off the seven town halls throughout the county over the following weeks and the effort that it goes with that. So just another recap of the process. Staff is going to present information at a summary level today. I'll share it on Monday. We spent a lot of time going into depth in a few chapters, really with those that were driving the tax rates. There are a lot more chapters today, and there will be definitely times we slow down to talk about affordable housing and climate and uh the health fund and some other notable topics. Um but some of the pace of the chapters will be quicker in staff's presentation than it was. Uh because there are more chapters, but the good news for the board is staff has less slides to present today by about 11. So that's that's always a good milestone. Uh as always, we're listening for the board for any questions or other potential adjustments that the board may like to see in the budget. And if uh you're tuning in, uh anything not answered in the meeting, it's posted on the website for transparency. Uh so with that, here's today's agenda. And we've shuffled this around a little bit in the order of the book, but the actual the very first thing I want to do is to continue the conversation from the end of Monday's work session about the allocation of shared revenues and how that 3.2 cents for public safety works in the future. Um so I'll uh we've done some uh some analysis of that to report back to the board and ask the board for a little bit of direction as we move forward. Uh we'll then move through uh the chapters. If the board would like a break before we get to health and welfare, would be the uh the best spot. Executive director, Bill Moyer is here, Khaki Demick and Emily Kilroy and uh Mr. Davidson will all take that seat at some point today. Um I will share that uh there's a lot here, and staff does not want to rush the board's deliberation.

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