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Volume 38, Number 22
POSTAL CUSTOMER
King George
Wednesday, May 28, 2014 50 Cents
helping you relate to your community
Still no state budget – what should localities do? Phyllis Cook The state has still not passed a budget for 2014-15, with the start of the fiscal year looming about a month away on July 1. It makes sense that the General Assembly and more particularly the Virginia House of Delegates should come to some resolution with Gov. Terry McAuliffe in that time frame. But recent history indicates that may not be so, since they haven’t so far.
While the state Senate passed a budget, the House of Delegates refused to do so while the General Assembly was in session earlier this year. Both sides appear to be entrenched in their positions over Medicaid expansion and have the issue tied up in the budget. A slide presentation being passed along by a state official indicates that if no state appropriation act is in place July 1, the Commonwealth will be in uncharted territory.
Taxes and other revenues of the Commonwealth will continue to be deposited into the state Treasury, but no moneys can be paid out of the State Treasury except as authorized by an appropriations act signed by the Governor. That means no appropriations can be made to localities. Localities are likewise in uncharted territory. About 40 percent of the King George County budget is comprised of state funding, adding up to $27.5
million of the $68,202,063 total county budget. The largest share of state funding goes for the School Board (57 percent of the School Board’s budget). Below are the rest of the amounts of state revenue for various departments, along with the percentages for each of those department budgets. - $1.7 million for Social Services/ CSA (40% of budget) - $985,000 for Sheriff (28% of budget) - $276,000 for Commonwealth
Attorney (50% of budget) - $215,000 for Clerk of Circuit Court (52% of budget) - $115,000 for Comm. of Revenue (30% of budget) - $92,000 for Library (18% of budget) - $89,000 for Treasurer (30% of budget) - $42,000 for Registrar (34% of budget) With no state budget, it continues to See Budget, page 3
JV Champs
Leonard Banks
After defeating Courtland, 1-0, to win the junior varsity baseball championship, members of the Foxes junior varsity baseball team spend to few moments to pose for the traditional championship photo.
Tech advisory committee membership ramping up Phyllis Cook The King George Board of Supervisors approved the nominations for four additional members for a new Tech Advisory committee at last week’s meeting on May 21. That action brought the membership of the committee to seven, with five more members to be nominated. Committee members will serve on a volunteer basis without monetary compensation. The new members are Dee Strauss and Lyle
Brown, nominated by Chairman Joe Grzeika, and Thad Dover and Tony Zilic, nominated by Supervisor Dale Sisson. Those two join Dale Robertson and Jonathan Usher, appointed on nominations by Supervisor Ruby Brabo on May 5, along with Cathy Binder, appointed on a nomination by Supervisor Cedell Brooks in March. A charter for a technology advisory committee received final approval from the King George Board of Supervisors on April 1. The idea for the committee had been
New County Stormwater Management Ordinance and regs to take effect July 1 Phyllis Cook A new Stormwater Management ordinance and regulations are effective in King George on July 1 that will affect some new construction permitting in the county. The King George Board of Supervisors approved the Stormwater Management Program to become a part of the county’s zoning ordinance last week on May 20. Changes were required to be made to be in line with recent changes to state requirements. The good news is that construction of single-family residences not part of a larger development disturbing less than 2,500 square feet are exempt from the requirements and fees. Also, for single-family home construction that must meet the requirements of the new regulations,
spawned late last year by encouragement by several county residents who live in sparselypopulated areas of King George and want access to affordable broadband internet. Robertson was one of the residents who attended board meetings and spoke on the topic during public comment. He and several others, including Barbara Wagner, subsequently formed a small group of King George residents calling itself King George Connected, which began meeting last November to research possible solutions to
the problems of getting broadband internet to underserved areas. Supervisors have expressed a desire that the new advisory committee would work together with the existing citizen group. CHARTER & PURPOSE Under the group’s charter, the terms of the committee members are for one year, commencing at the date of the first meeting. See Tech, page 3
Green Talks
there is no additional state fee assessed. Another key component of the recent legislation by the General Assembly provides the ability of for some localities to opt-in and act as a Virginia Stormwater Management Authority. King George opted in. That means the county, and not the state, will implement the regulations locally, as it does with other construction permitting. BACKGROUND The state’s Soil and Water Conservation Board adopted regulations back in May 2011 that went into effect in September of the same year and were published on the state’s website. The regulations required that See ordinance, page 3
Submitted by Linda Kline
Tammi Shelton, a.k.a. Ms. Clucker, allowed Green Talk participants to get up close with her backyard menagerie of chickens, ducks and geese. Pictured above in the fowl enclosure are Tammi (center) and some of the participants who learned about raising chickens, ducks and geese for fresh eggs. If you missed the program, look for Tammi and Ms. Clucker’s Best at the KG Farmers’ Market on Saturday mornings.
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King George holding fracking info session on June 12 Phyllis Cook The King George Board of Supervisors will hold a fracking information session for the community on June 12, 7 p.m., at King George High School. The information session is expected to be a town hall-style meeting lasting about two hours, with a section providing an opportunity for members of the public to ask questions. Supervisors expect to hear from two state agencies, the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME) and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), along with Shore Exploration & Production Corporation, and the Southern Environmental Law Center. Former state delegate Albert Pollard is also expected to be on hand to kick off the presentations by providing an overview on fracking, as he has done at various other such local meetings. Shore Exploration is the Texasbased company holding mineral rights leases on at least 10,443 acres in King George, according to a search of county records this past summer by the organization, Friends of the Rappahannock. To get caught up on some previous presentations in the area, the county has posted several documents on its website. To get directly to the page listing these documents, go to: www.king-george.va.us/news-andannouncements/announcements/ taylorsville-basin---bos-meetingpowerpoint-slides-feb-4-2014.php. PROCESS TO BE REVIEWED The actual permit for any mining is approved by the state and the environmental aspect is likewise controlled by the state’s regulations. Chairman Joe Grzeika has also said the info session would likely include information about the county’s process for obtaining a special exception permit, which is required for any mining operation in the county. Special exception permits require two advertised public hearings, first one by the Planning Commission and the second by the Board of Supervisors. GWRC BRIEF ON NATURAL GAS EXTRACTION Supervisor Jim Howard reported at the board meeting last week on May 20 that the regional planning agency, the George Washington Regional Commission (GWRC), had put together a brief on request from reps from the King George board. The brief noted that none of the GWRC’s five member jurisdictions have land use regulations in place regarding oil and natural gas extraction. A locality claiming that oil and gas extraction is not allowed since it is not addressed in its local zoning ordinances could be expected to lead to court action and interpretation over extraction rights. The GWRC brief adds, “Virginia Oil & Gas Act prohibits local governments from placing a moratorium on, or banning, energy development.” (Code of Virginia §45.1-361.5) Thebriefrecommendstworegulatory approaches for consideration, with each requiring amendments to the zoning ordinance. In either case, it is also recommended that appropriate Comprehensive Plan amendments should also be made See fracking, page 3