Board of Supervisors Budget Work Session   2/28/2019

We're in the February 28th meeting of the Board of Supervisors in this session and I believe we have a resolution.

with a possible agreement with a volunteer rescue squad.

Second.

Mr. Randa?

Aye.

Mr. Dill?

That was great.

Mr. Gallaway?

Ms. Palmer?

And then why don't we go around the table real fast and see who we're working with today.

I'm the Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Eddie Bowman, Office of Management and Budget.

Craig Campner, County Attorney.

Diantha McKeel, Jack Jouett, History.

Ann Mallek, White Hall History, Ned Gallaway, Rio District, Rick Randolph, Scottsville, Ms. Palmer, Samuel Miller, Norman Dill, Rivanna And I want to remind everyone that with the mics up above, make sure you are talking loud so that the recording and the live feed can pick up your voice.

And with that, it is starting us off.

So we'll start off with the revenue update.

So, with that, any other thoughts or suggestions or comments?

Okay, with that we'll proceed into the various categories of our budget document that's in front of you today and Andy will take this next slide.

Thank you.

So it's how many are eligible and how that is utilized.

So I just wanted to ask.

We have questions, but without objection, would Phyllis, one of those who wanted to address at least one issue.

Do I need some sort of mic?

Speak loud.

indicate how that could make the entire way that the county addresses the affordable housing issue a more robust and allowing more options for our residents.

How difficult can we hear, certainly on the national news all the time, and I've talked to some developers about this, it's very hard to find

So the short answer is it's not that we have this huge pool of landlords, but I think that our case managers work really closely with landlords to help explain the program and

The additional person would enable us to continue adding more vouchers.

handling the renewals that have to happen on a periodic basis.

I was just going to ask, is that the senior housing specialist position that I see here under your unfunded request?

I think that would.

I'm sorry.

Are we actually creating new housing because people are building with the idea that while some of it can go to vouchers, I mean, I know it wouldn't be exactly tit for tat, but I just would be concerned that there's a large number of people looking for low income housing and the people that can go out to farms and do the right thing.

I mean, it's sort of an array of alternatives to address the need.

So when Zephiel comes on, your case manager could help.

There's a choice here about where they want to live and what kind of housing they're looking at or preferring.

and I think it would be productive to have you as part of that discussion in help formulating a clear idea of what an overall affordable housing strategy entails not only from an ownership standpoint but also through the voucher and rental program standpoint.

I would welcome that opportunity.

Sorry, Supervisor Malle.

I am too.

Oh dear.

I just wanted to give Ann's example.

Can it work that way where I want to help this family and I'll put them up and so if you can get a voucher or do you have to go based on the waiting list to who's next?

kind of intersecting the programs and looking at things in a broad way.

Because I realize most of them are probably, while there may be some that are responsible for a lot of them, but are they spread out or are they just within a small, most of them within a small area?

What I do know, I know we have some vouchers being used in the Crozet area and Scottsville and then the Urban Ring, but I can find out if it goes beyond that.

Where they're located and then maybe the transit partnership could use that information in a different way.

I can get that information to you.

Thank you.

So did we get the cost for the positions?

She's going to get back to, oh, I saw him.

Probably somewhere in that ballpark.

If you were going to hire somebody, okay.

Position equals 30 vouchers or something.

So, I think that's the number.

and it just takes capacity to do that and this is one further step towards this won't get all the way there, one further step to provide some leadership capacity that we think would be really important to make sure that we're still providing leadership for the functioning of the department but also then to be able to work those relationships out in our community that much better with that leadership.

I would be remiss if I didn't stand up here and advocate for that.

So do we directly benefit if we stop fraud?

If there's been more collected that could add to that, but it's not a direct, oh we

recouped $20,000 and that goes back into our budget.

But it's considered just the same as any of the other DSS positions.

So this particular one, the fraud, so when we hear from Andy that the housing specialist is $72,000, 33% of that is paid by the state?

We do get some administrative monies from HUD, but I don't know the exact dollars.

Follow up with a whole picture of what the HUD subsidy is, etc.

And at that point we'll see the numbers.

The actual cost is greater, but that's the difference with state revenue factor.

So that's the third, that takes into account the first.

Yes, correct.

That would be sort of a different set of rules around the university.

We will explore whether we get additional administrative support through HUD for additional positions or whether it's tied to the number of vouchers.

My understanding is it's tied to the number of vouchers so if if you're able to issue more vouchers then you get more admit but with the VDSS positions it's tied to the position.

Looking at income and net worth and where our sliding scale diminishes, where ours seems to be stronger than

One of the things in the back of my mind all the time regarding affordable housing is how we allow our low-income, elderly especially, to stay in the houses they've been in for 30 years and not lose, you know, every time we spend money on something that's absolutely essential, it still puts a burden on people who has no ability to be resilient for those costs.

These numbers are, these are the tax rates from 2017, so here's the year old and we're still at or near the top.

Just doing a survey here, looks like we are still in time.

So that's just the basics about the process.

Gloria, if I may interject, I want to compliment you and Kathy and your team for doing an outstanding job given the fact that the city abruptly dropped this program and we decided as a board

This is the last slide on the ABRT.

We even got some of them saying that they would like to do it again.

I was going to say, did you sign them up for next year?

So it went really well.

Well, it's definitely a combination.

There's some really good ones in here.

So it really is a nice continuum and they're very close partnerships so that folks can get a lot more than what we can get.

Okay, so the new agencies, I was, many many years ago my daughter participated in a wonderful

So it's more lecture type things.

I don't know that I'd say lectures.

That number matches what's in the form.

The only model I know about is the film classes and working with them.

Well, it says they provided 130 workshops and taught 1700 students from 86 area schools.

Is there more information that you can tell us besides what's in here?

I'm happy.

Excuse me, reasonable time to now fund that request.

Now that you've talked about managing the properties, that's different than doing classes for people, which is what I thought.

Kind of set you apart.

My other things are, maybe I'm wrong, but while not completely new, they are under new leadership over the last

So I think they've found a pretty good niche for themselves.

So the cost avoidance to have more opportunities like this for a little bit of money that's going to that is quite a return.

So I know that Kathy Richardson is fabulous at trying to make those connections through that organization.

Any step we take where we'll be addicted and also mentally ill

You understand what I'm asking?

But it's a reasonable question to ask and a reasonable study to do if the county wanted to do it.

But I'm just wondering if you all have any.

Sometimes it is stymied by the funding streams.

and the outcomes that those funding streams are expecting, sometimes that is the challenge of trying to combine and do some stuff.

So, outside of that, I can't think of a lot of examples where there have been mergers and consolidations.

Thanks.

Speaking of time, we've got two other small departments to go through.

And this will be trucking.

Any questions?

I'll try not to say that.

Oh, we'll defer to Amy on that question.

So that's it.

So it's portable?

It's the machinery that they stand on the back and then it has different attachments to do different things on the trails and it saves us tons of time of hand cutting the trails.

Thank you.

We can certainly talk about that in more detail.

and then once that person is hired, permit that person to go ahead and be involved in the search for his or her deputy director or you see a scenario where you would proceed on two tracks simultaneously, the search for a deputy director and the search for a director simultaneously.

We would not want to have a big gap in leadership for the department as a gift and as a senior.

I do have a question on this department

And then I think that's done with my comments, but any questions that you have.

with that economic development aspect of our plan.

It is identified within the

Good afternoon, Mark Graham, Director of Community Development.

As Doug mentioned, on March 6th, you will see a resolution of 10 that includes a project schedule with a public engagement plan on how we get to the board by next December.

We have that capacity right now to deliver the product

which is a draft of the form-based code and can include either a zoning overlay or a rezoning of that area to match that form-based code.

Other questions while Mark's here?

I would like to get an answer for people.

So it may be the case if those fees are up, the money coming into the water resources fund is down.

So it may be technical as opposed to a reduction in effort.

We'll have the same level of resources and enforcement.

So I would expect a portion of that would explain the expenditure size is the same as just where the funding was coming from to support those positions.

Anything else?

This next category, again, is for Mr. Walker, the Economic Development Services.

and about $30,000 in contract services for some rural agribusiness evaluation and some additional wealth in the Cooper Center analyses, some of which you saw an example of that with the Willow Tree and helping to provide the support for business case for development activity.

This is on page 154.

I have a question on this.

The first-time temp wages is $280,000.

But I might be interested in knowing what the itemization is of the unfunded request for the OA and the internship, so I can really look at the difference between the part-time and what a potential full-time position is.

There are current utilization of part-time staff to support specific projects, like the Willow Tree-Willow Mills project, the Broadway Quarter project.

So it makes sense to have a part-time...

But that was the thinking.

In the proposition versus OA might not be able to move in.

So it's trying to be like a strategic in that way.

What is the return on investment for the county to be part of the Central Virginia Small Partnership for Economic Development and

Good afternoon, Chairman, members of the board.

Thank you very much.

from you at some point, just some feedback on that, if it's been corrected, if there's management issues that have been addressed, if you can feel as though they're significant or anything that we should be aware of.

Yeah, I'm not familiar with that particular JLOC report.

I will certainly return.

That was the fallout of the investment, I think it was in the Lynchburg or Appomattox area with a foreign investor.

Okay, so maybe that was it.

But if it's the Central Virginia, you'll have to check.

I don't think J-Log would be doing anything in Central Virginia.

I did want to share these updates beyond just the

Brad, please help us understand better what I was trying to say.

You will talk a little bit about your actual position as well.

Let's keep the $22,000 in.

That's a new brand.

I tried to explain that all in this little handout, and I have some other obvious ones.

So, we're all doing stuff.

My experience with the state says that we need to keep it random until you find out differently.

That way it kind of keeps it separate from the allocation that's already there, and then it's specifically meant for the demonstration business.

But the line is basically ready to get going as soon as we check the box on the money from somewhere.

It's not just Crozet, but the whole new concept that connects and the technology, bus tracking, paid by federal and all that kind of stuff.

So you're holding your breath on all this launch.

Yeah, I am, and I'm still holding my breath.

So, we need to get them off of 250 and this will be a great way to do it.

contingency fund, what's the most doable way to approach this?

The interest to having this is not to move the desk to the board, you come back and revisit at the end of the day or Monday, and you're the best way to address it.

And you're comfortable that you're okay with two?

Yeah, yeah, I think optimistic as other

Thank you, Brad.

My comment on the kind of things being worked out would be very fine, thank you for the details.

I just wanted to clarify.

So this is the very try and concise explanation of how this methodology changes and it is a draft MOU that we can

And it's much more transparent, especially for us.

We actually will get some credit for all that federal money because our citizens are bringing it.

But I think certainly I'm very pleased with this formula and the way we're moving.

I understand it's retroactive for 10 years, so we're going to collect all the difference.

We wouldn't be getting money back if it wasn't.

One thing that has just occurred to me but is half-baked therefore is that perhaps there could be a bucket of transit so that if something moved out of one section it could stay in the bucket and then move to some other section it would give you a little flexibility as the operations models are flexing their muscles in various ways over the next couple of years and maybe it's just a way to think about it but to me those all four can sort of work together to keep

So, Ann's right, it wouldn't be bad to have a

No millions of dollars in infrastructure.

Of meters of infrastructure.

And exactly where we need water and sewer.

That would be an appropriate area for the board to discuss it.

Again, we hit most of it the very first meeting, so we don't think there's a lot to go over.

I don't plan to highlight, there really aren't any major changes, but we're certainly available for questions if you want to ask them.

So think about that.

I remember that that formula was intended to really reach a particular number.

It was created to reach a number.

I'll see if I can dig that up.

all eight pages of it.

Are you alright with moving to the...

Well, I'm sorry, moving back up.

This last one, again, is Annie, so I won't say any more about it.

I'm sorry, is there a question?

No, before you start celebrating, I did have a question that I can do it after you do your thing.

So unless there are any questions, I do not have any further comments on this slide.

This might be a good time to consider a break.

Hallis, back to order.

There's things that you, and again, that's just your proposed rate ceiling for advertisement, but today it would be helpful if you've written things down, flagged things, and you're looking for staff to begin to work on identifying adjustments to funding.

So what are your thoughts around when we have those two positions that Phyllis talked about?

I guess I'm struggling with the process here.

We'll be happy to do that.

Okay, and that doesn't commit us at this point, just the information.

And in that same category that I hope you would also put the possible changes that we discussed today as well.

And I guess my concern, I'm still going back to transit because we're all talking about how

Y'all can do affordable housing and Liz isn't going to get her people someplace and I'm not going to get people.

Where are the fun pops?

I guess it could be one-time monies.

So we do have a couple layers of contingencies for what the board might want to do or for when things come up.

And I don't know.

I believe Mr. Sheffield would like to say something.

to start vetting the random ideas that are out there, process them, and probably in June is when we say these ideas have merit and potential to spend a couple of months putting numbers and stuff to it and then having more of a public conversation.

Where do we go to even find the money, I guess is what I'm saying.

Well, I think you're underestimating the amount of work that would need to take place to reach agreement about such a route.

Well, I said it's not going to happen right away.

What I'm referencing is I think there would need to be an agreement with the city and the county both on this.

When the bus goes into Albemarle County, that's what that formula that we've been talking about is all about.

It could be.

We need to have the discussion.

So I think things are lining up really well I think to better inform the budget processes as well as really take

So, I just didn't want to, I just want everybody to be thinking about

I just wanted you to be aware of how the policy reads, and then it could be that you could

Laura, would you not first go to reserve a contingency for ongoing operating expense related to an unforeseen expenditure that falls outside of the budget process?

Which is what we've done in the past.

Yes, and that's why we built that in.

I think we're covered based on what I've heard today and what you're talking about in terms of scope and where you are and how the $25,000 may be used to analyze

Alright, sounds good.

So we have the DSS positions, we have the transit part, are there other items?

And clearly, we're going to want to do

If we did that, would that be taking $300,000 from the $2 million or so that was in an unprogrammed for strategic priorities, that fund that's sitting there?

I may notice that there were about six items that had been flagged by the board in your prior work session.

It's a separate conversation.

I just don't want to start mixing up repeating money with recurring money with one-time money.

So we could stay on the recurring money

I guess I'm a little clear of this order of things, but in a way that's what I'm trying to say is it would be recurring money and that's a separate issue from getting $300,000 and that's a me and one quarter issue It depends on if we spend it

And so that's why I'm hesitant.

So, for instance, if we had a new Brookdale, would we have the money set aside to do that?

That's still the money we're losing.

That seems to be what happens with housing, too, is that there's Brooklyn all of a sudden that comes up, and we scramble around them to figure out something good.

I just don't know what we're doing with the housing software.

I'd like to sort of let that play out and see what policy changes or what it might look like before I would commit right now to a lot of work on behalf of something for affordable housing.

Now that's just from a casual conversation well before this budget that I had.

Perhaps there has been a revision that has not been, that's by the way, duplicated to us.

And we also have a reserve that's set aside for when, when those kind of things happen that happens regularly.

If that's the case, because that just helps understanding in the full or in the bigger picture.

Yes.

If that's processed in HR.

If somebody gets promoted, we're able to do that without it having to be a big mess.

I didn't take very good notes.

There's unfunded, at least what we have in here for each section.

Would the board like for us to put together a list on one sheet of all the unfunded positions?

It's very long, but we can do it.

Maybe ones that we've talked about, I don't know if some might add.

I'm not, I'm going to figure it out.

Exactly.

I was thinking I'd list the ones we've discussed.

Well, I think we've only discussed the two that we're talking about for social services and the one that Ned mentioned that we're taking care of.

Well, I did ask for the break down for the police department.

I would be willing to, in considering the DSS positions, because of course all of this is going to come from somewhere else when you come back with the options, but I would like to see one more position there so I can weigh the pros and cons against the DSS positions.

I don't have a problem with looking at it that way.

I'm sure that information can be discussed more when this comes back for consideration.

The SRO is what we're saying, and then their top one, which was the patrol, and then social services.

All of this is for your operational impact and so we would come back with some options for you to consider to be able to put these positions in UI first in balance.

So, and you would show us with the police officer, the school resource, the funding from the schools that involves that.

Sure.

Yeah.

Those were the only positions?

Yes, those are the only two in federal requestering here.

And was that sergeant's position a brand new position?

So that has nothing to do with that.

In other words, what would go through HR in a normal process?

As was mentioned in the reserve continues, there is a ongoing component and a one-time component.

Brian?

Just trying to acknowledge that there are...

I'm just bringing it up one more time.

It's a contingency by name, and it's used for that purpose, recognizing that things do happen during the course of the year that are currently unanticipated.

Combined, it's 537.

280 and 250.

287, ongoing, 250.

Stabilization is 2.9 or 2.

And our policy right now says that that's not to be used, it doesn't say you.

That's the way it's written currently, yeah.

Two of those curves should cost about an opportunity.

It's not timely, it doesn't allow strategic plan, anything that board members flag that you would like for us to consider removing because that certainly will make our jobs easier between now and Monday to begin to find capacity on the operating site.

and so on.

I just want to clarify that.

I've been told a stack of Bibles is actually going to start in September, but I don't see it in the budget.

In the last meeting, we put the nine strategic areas up, and it was mentioned that there was interest in trying to do an additional sidewalk project in an aging urban area.

OK.

It was also, and Liz I may be confused, because I also wrote that, I believe it was you that said, I'd also like to look at the sidewalk project on Lynchburg Road.

It's aging infrastructure with some new development with a, clearly I think it's a attractive nuisance on the other side of 64 on the city side where we've got a lot of people trying to get under a bridge

So what we can do, I'm going to look at Trevor, between now and next week, if there's board consent on looking at two additional sidewalk projects, is there a way that we can begin to ballpark, or would that be something that we carry into next year?

Kevin McDermott's aware of it, we may be a vestige.

If he doesn't get that funding, that little area needs to be done.

It's in the BIPED quality of life.

I'm just talking about that one section.

Without knowing the details of what Diantha's talking about,

My personal preference for this would be

So why don't we just, affordable housing opportunities, why don't we just keep the two million for now?

And what we might end up doing is taking some of the money from that $2 million to do some work around

Does that make sense?

this spring and summer so that we would have kind of the studies in place for our CIP cycle for next year.

That would take a little bit of money, right?

It would, and I'm saying we might need to advance that into the now funding.

It is available right now.

That's what I think we're talking about.

and there's a lot of pedestrian traffic.

That's a new sidewalk or something?

That's a lot worse.

So that's new too.

So the cities are both new projects which follow.

I know Jack has a bunch of plans in his file that were done by Scott Collins in the new locations but I've just never been able to get a response on so it may be that we need to do some money investment to get it wrapped up but if we can knock a couple million dollars off that project,

So that's where we are in the process.

We need the month between to advertise the proposed budget for Ann Mallek and the proposed rate.

So what you're required to do is, due to your tax rate, the proposed budget's very important to get done as soon as possible so you have time to discuss it in your town halls and get ready for that and for us to get the work together so that you're ready for your April 9th.

Anything that we...

Doesn't seem like it.

Any matters not listed on the agenda from the board members?

everything from the County Executive Office.

Okay.

So we'll call us on the other way.

All right, so with that, then we will adjourn to February 28, 2019, 7 p.m. at the TJPDC Water Street Center at 407 East Water Street.