Virginia Viewpoints Is the death penalty more trouble than it’s worth Page 2
Parks
SPORTS
proposed policy for park concessions put on hold Page 8
KG Junior Varsity sweep Washington & Lee Page 5
T he
Volume 39, Number 15
Service Authority proposes $5 million budget for 2015-16
Schools king george schools recognized for ap exam achievement. Page 8 POSTAL CUSTOMER
King George
Wednesday, April 1, 2015 50 Cents
helping you relate to your community
Supervisors advertising two-cent increase for real estate tax rate
Signs of spring
Rate increases to be explored next week on April 14
Phyllis Cook
Phyllis Cook The King George Service Authority will consider potential rate hikes for the 2015-16 fiscal year, with budget expenditures proposed to be about $427,000 more than the current budget. The authority provides water and sewer service to residential and commercial customers in specific service areas in the county. Last year was the first time water and sewer rates stayed level in eight years. The authority reviewed a proposed expenditure budget at its March 24 meeting. It would increase the budget to $5 million, proposed by authority General Manager Chris Thomas. Most of the increase would be for new debt service, totaling $328,489. “Without that debt service amount, you can see that we are keeping it pretty lean,” Thomas said. The debt service increase is due to upgrades of the Fairview Beach water system and the Dahlgren wastewater treatment plan. The rest of the debt service stems from previous upgrades to other systems required by state regulations. The proposed budget increase would include a 6.9 percent increase for health insurance costs. Authority member Joe Grzeika praised the budget and asked Thomas to provide additional columns to indicate year-to-date actual expenditures. Thomas agreed. He also noted the absence of estimates for revenues. “We’re only presenting expenditures tonight,” Thomas said. “Robyn and I have been working closely with Davenport to look at a possible five-year plan like we had before, for revenues.” Thomas was referring to Robyn Shugart, the county’s director of finance and to Davenport & Company, LLC, the county and service authority’s financial advisors. Authority member Ruby Brabo asked about the rate increases under consideration. “I can’t say, yet,” Thomas said. “It’s premature until we actually sit down and look at it with Davenport.” The firm previously devised a fiveyear strategic financial plan in April 2009. The plan included calculated annual rate and connection fee increases, along with restructuring of debt service fees and refinancing of capital debt. It also reduced overall expenditures, See Rates, page 8
Phyllis Cook
Spring had truly arrived in King George on April 4 as area children enjoyed the annual Easter Egg hunt sponsored by the King George Department of Parks & Recreation. More than 100 families participated in the festivities.
King George Sheriff’s communications officers helping keep county safe Richard Leggitt For the nation’s law enforcement community, the week of April 14-18, is National Public Safety Telecommunications Week. The dozen talented and dedicated communications employees of the King George Sheriff ’s Office will celebrate by doing what they do every week, working 12-hour shifts and eating meals at their desks while they work to keep the county safe. These staff professionals are on the job for the citizens of the county 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They handle calls that vary from missing pets to brush fires to emergency and life or death situations with little or no recognition of the essential work they do. “The communications officers are a vital part of the King George Sheriff ’s Office. They deserve an extreme amount of credit for what they do day after day,” said King George Sheriff Steve Dempsey. “Last year we got 39,604 calls,” said E-911 Communications Director Wayne Bushrod. “We are considered the public safety answering point for the entire county. Fire, law enforcement,
Wayne Bushrood (right), King George County’s communications director and Jamal Hardy wait for the next call to the E-911 Center. EMS, game wardens, animal control - all of those calls come to us.” Bushrod, who has been with the sheriff ’s office for more than 20 years, is proud of his work and proud of the team.
“I started out in communications,” he said. “I like it because you are helping your community. Someone has to be behind the scenes and we have good people.” Recruiting and keeping top
notch employees is a major part of Bushrod’s job. “We are looking for good, qualified people. No criminal See dispatch, page 8
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King George County Administrator Travis Quesenberry has provided a budget proposal of about $69.5 million, with an additional $500,000 added to it, as directed by the board of supervisors. The total county budget is advertised at about $70 million, including about $38 million for the school budget. Quesenberry unveiled the spending blueprint at the supervisors’ March 31 meeting. “This is the same budget I presented with the addition of the two-cent real estate tax increase,” Quesenberry said. “The rationale for the two-cent increase was to allow the board to gain public input during the process and have some room in case they did want to add more than the base budget that you had presented,” said Supervisor Joe Grzeika. “Once you advertise a budget, you cannot go higher, but you can go lower,” Quesenberry said. “And it’s not an obligation to go to that,” Grzeika added. Those comments were in keeping with Grzeika’s comments the previous week, when he suggested he couldn’t support a tax increase. The motion to advertise the budget as presented and the tax rate increase proposal were unanimously approved, 4-0, with supervisor Dale Sisson absent. The proposed new real estate tax rate is 61 cents per $100 valuation. All other taxes are proposed to stay the same. At the March 25 work session, Supervisor Dale Sisson suggested the possibility of a one- or two-cent hike, should it be needed. Chairman Jim Howard and Supervisor Ruby Brabo agreed. Sisson said some of the new tax money might go to the school division. School Superintendent Rob Benson said last Friday the division is expected to finish the current year with an average daily membership of 4,236 students. That’s 47 students more than the current year’s budget is based upon and will translate to more than $200,000 additional in state aid for the current year. Benson recently said his first priority for use of any surplus is to recommend the school board pay for the incentive payments to retirees out of this year’s budget to provide that savings in next year’s budget. See taxes, page 8