Charles City makes first cuts for $900,000 revenue shortfall for current fiscal year

Charles City supervisors have taken the first steps toward solving a projected $900,000 revenue shortfall for the current fiscal year.

Board members unanimously voted to transfer $463,268 from county departments and the social services department into contingency funds during their Feb. 25 regular meeting.

County finance director Michelle Johnson addressed supervisors about the dwindling revenue provided to the county from Waste Management of Virginia. After monitoring the company since the fall, Johnson indicated that the county’s revenue is $489,000 less than at this point last year, mostly due to the landfill issue.

The county entered into a legal battle with Waste Management last October. County attorney Randy Boyd indicated to board members the lawsuit may last until 2016. And even until then, all departments in the county will feel financial suffering, according to supervisors’ chairman Bill Coada.

Charles City Social Services voluntarily returned $100,000 from this year’s budget, while all other county departments were asked to return one percent, roughly $40,000 each. Areas unaffected by the cuts were public safety departments.

During supervisors’ comments, District 3 representative Floyd Miles spoke on the revenue issue.

“We are going through turmoil in the county and followed the recommendation of staff to cut all non-essential spending,” he said. “By law, we have to have a balanced budget.

Miles also motioned for supervisors to deny just over $108,000 funds to the schools for immediate repairs. That motion passed unanimously 3-0. Supervisors also mandated that schools produce a list of recommended cuts by the board’s regular meeting on March 25.

Schools were hoping to use those funds to help with immediate safety concerns, including track repairs at the high school, filling a sinkhole at the elementary school, and repairing a boiler at the elementary school. Now, schools will not receive those funds and the ramifications may trickle down.

School officials are planning to address cuts at their March 5 work session. Cuts discussed during previous talks included personnel positions terminated, safety repairs, and programs being removed. Another possibility that has arisen is the termination of sports programs for the remainder of the year.

“I am going to have a week to look at what we can cut and bring it back to the school board in a week,” said superintendent of schools Janet Crawley. “This is probably one of the saddest times we’ve had around here in a long time.”

“It looks like we are going to have to put a chain on the gates of the track to prevent injuries,” said disappointed school board member Preston Adkins. “That means nobody will be able to have access to it.”

Adkins added that not only would students be affected by the closure of the track, but the community as well. According to the representative, many county residents use the track during the spring and summer as a means for exercise due to the county not having a walking path. Also a direct of result of the track being closed may include Charles City’s annual “Relay for Life” having to find another location.

“We did what we could do, but now we have a lot of things to think about that we don’t want to,” Adkins concluded.