OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Albemarle County Board of Supervisors Budget Work Session - March 16, 2026

Board of Supervisors — Monday, March 16, 2026
BodyAlbemarle County, Virginia
SessionBoard of Supervisors
DateMonday, March 16, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 3:22:19

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

All right, good afternoon, everyone.

0:01

I call to order the Board of Supervisors for this March 16th, 2026, 5 p.m.

0:08

budget work session in room 241.

0:12

With us today, we have Supervisor Mike Pruitt of the Scottsville District, Supervisor Ann Malik of the White Hall District, Supervisor Fred Missel of the Samuel Miller District, Supervisor B.

0:23

Lapisto Kirkly of the Ravanna District, Supervisor Sally Duncan of the Jack Jewett District, and myself, Supervisor Ned Galloway of the Rio District.

0:32

From the county side, we do have our county executive, Mr.

0:35

Jeff Richardson.

0:37

Our county attorney, Mr.

0:39

Herrick, is hiding out in the crowd.

0:43

And our board clerk, Ms.

0:44

Claudette Ferguson, is with us as well.

0:47

Caitlin Malcolm, our chief of budget, and Andy Bowman, our assistant chief financial officer, are with us at the table.

0:55

We're thrilled to have with us the chair of the school board, Dr.

0:58

Rebecca Berlin, and the Vice Chair, Miss Allison Spillman.

1:02

And I note that having their back in the front row, we have four school board members, Mr.

1:08

Bob Beard, Mr.

1:09

Jim Dilberbeck, Ms.

1:10

K.

1:10

Cuff, and the Studie Lee.

1:12

Welcome.

1:13

From the schools, we have Superintendent Matt Haas, Maya Kumazawa, the Director of Budget and Planning, and Rosalind Schmidt, their chief operating officer, joining at the table, amongst others around the room.

1:25

We are very all very appreciative of our officers that are with us today.

1:29

Christian Hernandez and Justin Gibson.

1:31

Thank you, gentlemen.

1:33

For those who have done meetings here in the past that see new microphones in front of you, we still must speak out loud and enunciate.

1:42

These mics are not for room projection, but it is for the online, so we do still need to speak loud, enunciate, etc., so that we're all picked up.

1:51

Also, we learned the other night that even though it's March and you know you could have snow and 80 degrees in the same week in Virginia.

1:59

It can get warm in here, so we need to leave the doors open.

2:02

So any members of the public, if you leave, if you could just leave that back door open as you come and go, it'll help with keeping some airflow and keeping things environmentally cool.

2:14

And I will note that the school board clerk is here as well, Ms.

2:17

Christine Thompson.

2:18

I'm glad I looked over there.

2:19

Sorry, Christine.

2:20

I didn't catch you on the introductions.

2:22

All right, with that, we're here today to uh our fiscal year 27 operating and capital budget.

2:27

So Andy, I'm gonna turn to you first, or should I go right to the school development?

2:31

I have a brief introduction, and I appreciate your comment on the room.

2:34

I thought it was just me on the hot seat getting drilled last week.

2:37

No, but uh more seriously, thank you.

2:40

Uh more seriously, just a brief introduction as I usually do at the work sessions.

2:45

Uh this is the third work session of the Board of Supervisors on the county executive's recommended budget.

2:51

No action is requested by the Board of Supervisors tonight.

2:55

Uh on the 18th will be the first time the board will be requested to take action in the budget process.

2:59

The board certainly say this several times.

3:01

I say this for the public, that the board will propose a but a budget and propose tax rates for advertisement.

3:08

Uh that will uh restrict the board's budget process because the tax rate the board advertises is the maximum that can be adopted.

3:14

Only that rate or lower can be adopted.

3:17

18th is a key milestone because at that point the budget transforms from the county executives recommended budget to the board of supervisors' proposed budget.

3:26

Uh the conversation will then continue through a series of town halls in the board will hold in March and April that staff will be supporting, followed by public hearings and adoption budget on April 22nd, with the public schools scheduled to adopt the budget uh when April 23rd for the school funds.

3:43

Uh tonight's agenda.

3:45

We will uh spend the first portion of the meeting uh with the school board representatives to go through that request after that discussion and QA.

3:52

Uh staff would recommend a break for no other reason than to change our seating.

3:57

Uh what we'll then do is come back with some technical updates that are recommended for the board of supervisors considering their uh rec their proposed budget on Wednesday, and also continuing a conversation that started with the board last week about parking lot items that the board may want to uh act on as part of the proposed budget on Wednesday or later in April.

4:15

Uh there is no need to take that action tonight, but a lot of that discussion is helping staff help the board have as productive a conversation as they can on Wednesday.

4:24

And then we will uh continue with debt management and CIP chapters, and if we're not able to complete those today, we'll pick those up at Wednesday's work session.

4:32

So just a few slides uh to set things up for the public schools and really recap a lot of discussions that have had.

4:42

The county executive's recommendation.

4:44

I've explained that to the board of supervisors, board members, and school members have been discussing with each other.

4:49

Uh but for the public who may just be tuning in, uh, the allocation of shared revenues is a formula that's part of the board's financial management policies.

5:00

The way this works is there are revenues that are designated to be split every year, and they are those revenues we call shared.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Budget Equity Analysis██████████████████████████████████████38%
Public Engagement█████████████13%
Fiscal Sustainability██████████10%
Strategic Planning████████8%
Engineering And Infrastructure███████7%
Arts And Culture██████6%
Procedural████4%
Youth Programs███3%
Economic Development███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Albemarle County Board of Supervisors Budget Work Session - March 16, 2026

This was the third Board of Supervisors work session on the County Executive's recommended FY 2027 operating and capital budget. No action was taken; the session focused on presentations and discussions, particularly on the Albemarle County Public Schools (ACPS) funding request, technical budget updates, a "parking lot" of potential adjustments, and debt management/CIP outlook. The Board is scheduled to propose a budget and advertise tax rates on March 18, 2026, with final adoption on April 22, 2026.

Discussion Items

  • FY 2027 Operating and Capital Budget – Albemarle County Public Schools: Dr. Rebecca Berlin, School Board Chair, presented the School Board’s balanced needs-based budget request totaling $311.3 million, a $23 million increase (8.1%) over the adopted budget. She highlighted student demographics (over 14,000 students, 97 countries represented, 81 languages), student outcomes (94% graduation rate), and the need for sustained investment. Key points included:
    • Funding Formula: The County Executive’s recommended allocation follows a 54/36/10 split of shared revenues (schools/county/joint CIP). The School Board noted that over the past 10 years, county government operating expenditures increased 117% compared to 77% for schools, and the school share of operational spending declined from 62% (FY18) to 57.5% (FY27).
    • State Funding: ACPS will receive an estimated $11.8 million more in state funding due to the Local Composite Index (LCI) change, but the School Board argued this restores prior cuts, not new money.
    • Budget Reductions: ACPS has made $9.1 million in reductions over the past two budget cycles, including eliminating elementary foreign language, increasing class sizes, and cutting instructional coaching.
    • Capital Transfer Disagreement: The County Executive’s budget proposes transferring $6.4 million of the school’s shared revenue to a capital placeholder (unreserved). The School Board requests that $4.1 million be designated for school CIP projects, arguing the funds originate from the schools’ portion.
    • Multi-Year Planning: Multiple supervisors, including Supervisor Pruitt, emphasized the need for long-term joint planning between the Board and School Board to improve predictability and reduce year-to-year uncertainty.
  • Technical Budget Updates: Andy Bowman, Assistant CFO, presented recommended technical adjustments (net positive) to the general fund and special revenue funds, including refinements to regional jail costs, transit funding, and reinstating $40,000 to "Reclaimed Hope" (a human services agency) due to an administrative oversight.
  • Parking Lot Items: The Board discussed potential adjustments to the proposed budget, including:
    • Nonprofit & Cultural Agency Funding: Several supervisors questioned whether county taxpayer dollars should fund city-focused organizations. Supervisor Mallek raised concerns about the Paramount Theater, Live Arts, Virginia Discovery Museum, and the Virginia Film Festival, while supporting the Scottsville Band. Supervisor LaPisto-Kirtley asked for a systematic way to review all agencies. Chair Galloway emphasized respecting the existing funding process while noting that adjustments can still be made before April 22.
    • Affordable Housing & ACERP: Supervisor Pruitt expressed interest in increasing funding for the Affordable Housing Investment Fund and the emergency needs program (ACERP).
    • Tax Rate Options: The Board discussed potential real estate and personal property tax rate modifications. Staff clarified that one penny on the real estate tax rate generates approximately $3.3 million ongoing and $1.6 million one-time in FY27, depending on dedication.
  • Debt Management & Capital Improvement Program (CIP): Andy Bowman presented the debt service outlook, noting that five major projects (Courts, Rivanna Futures, three schools) total nearly $300 million and will drive debt service from $34 million in FY26 to roughly $54 million by FY31. The county maintains AAA bond rating and remains within policy caps (debt service <10% of revenues). The CIP presentation highlighted:
    • Major Projects: Boulders Road ($41M, with state/developer contributions), Northern Feeder Pattern school design, Central Library renovation ($10.5M county share), Darden Towe athletic fields, and workplace facility renovations.
    • CIP Placeholder: The recommended CIP includes a $12.8 million placeholder (from $6.4 million annually in FY27-FY28) for future board determination.
    • Community Capital Requests: Staff recommended five projects for FY27-FY31, including Bennett’s Village, Dogwood Vietnam Memorial, Salvation Army shelter, Stony Point Volunteer Fire Company roof, and Scottsville levee repairs.

Key Outcomes

  • No formal decisions or votes were taken at this work session.
  • The Board will propose a budget and advertise tax rates at the March 18, 2026 meeting.
  • Staff will prepare additional information for the Board, including:
    • Data on cultural agency impacts on county residents.
    • Detailed breakdown of microtransit (MicroCAT) usage demographics.
    • A summary of tax rate options (penny on real estate, personal property, machinery & tools).
    • Analysis of long-term debt capacity.
  • The Board agreed that the Chair and Vice Chair will meet with School Board counterparts post-adoption to discuss process improvements.
  • The meeting was adjourned to March 18, 2026, 1:00 p.m., Lane Auditorium.

Meeting Transcript

All right, good afternoon, everyone. I call to order the Board of Supervisors for this March 16th, 2026, 5 p.m. budget work session in room 241. With us today, we have Supervisor Mike Pruitt of the Scottsville District, Supervisor Ann Malik of the White Hall District, Supervisor Fred Missel of the Samuel Miller District, Supervisor B. Lapisto Kirkly of the Ravanna District, Supervisor Sally Duncan of the Jack Jewett District, and myself, Supervisor Ned Galloway of the Rio District. From the county side, we do have our county executive, Mr. Jeff Richardson. Our county attorney, Mr. Herrick, is hiding out in the crowd. And our board clerk, Ms. Claudette Ferguson, is with us as well. Caitlin Malcolm, our chief of budget, and Andy Bowman, our assistant chief financial officer, are with us at the table. We're thrilled to have with us the chair of the school board, Dr. Rebecca Berlin, and the Vice Chair, Miss Allison Spillman. And I note that having their back in the front row, we have four school board members, Mr. Bob Beard, Mr. Jim Dilberbeck, Ms. K. Cuff, and the Studie Lee. Welcome. From the schools, we have Superintendent Matt Haas, Maya Kumazawa, the Director of Budget and Planning, and Rosalind Schmidt, their chief operating officer, joining at the table, amongst others around the room. We are very all very appreciative of our officers that are with us today. Christian Hernandez and Justin Gibson. Thank you, gentlemen. For those who have done meetings here in the past that see new microphones in front of you, we still must speak out loud and enunciate. These mics are not for room projection, but it is for the online, so we do still need to speak loud, enunciate, etc., so that we're all picked up. Also, we learned the other night that even though it's March and you know you could have snow and 80 degrees in the same week in Virginia. It can get warm in here, so we need to leave the doors open. So any members of the public, if you leave, if you could just leave that back door open as you come and go, it'll help with keeping some airflow and keeping things environmentally cool. And I will note that the school board clerk is here as well, Ms. Christine Thompson. I'm glad I looked over there. Sorry, Christine. I didn't catch you on the introductions. All right, with that, we're here today to uh our fiscal year 27 operating and capital budget. So Andy, I'm gonna turn to you first, or should I go right to the school development? I have a brief introduction, and I appreciate your comment on the room. I thought it was just me on the hot seat getting drilled last week. No, but uh more seriously, thank you. Uh more seriously, just a brief introduction as I usually do at the work sessions. Uh this is the third work session of the Board of Supervisors on the county executive's recommended budget. No action is requested by the Board of Supervisors tonight. Uh on the 18th will be the first time the board will be requested to take action in the budget process. The board certainly say this several times. I say this for the public, that the board will propose a but a budget and propose tax rates for advertisement. Uh that will uh restrict the board's budget process because the tax rate the board advertises is the maximum that can be adopted. Only that rate or lower can be adopted. 18th is a key milestone because at that point the budget transforms from the county executives recommended budget to the board of supervisors' proposed budget. Uh the conversation will then continue through a series of town halls in the board will hold in March and April that staff will be supporting, followed by public hearings and adoption budget on April 22nd, with the public schools scheduled to adopt the budget uh when April 23rd for the school funds. Uh tonight's agenda.

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