Purcellville Kicks Off Budget Season

BY HANNA PAMPALONI hpampaloni@loudounnow.com

The Purcellville Town Council officially kicked off its fiscal year 2024 budget discussions on Wednesday with a special meeting to hear the budget proposal by Interim Town Manager John Anzivino.

The presentation outlined an operating budget of $24.4 million, a $3 million increase over fiscal year 2023, and a total budget including the Capital Improvement Program of $28.2 million.

The budget proposes maintaining the real estate tax rate at $0.21 per $100 of assessed value, increasing water user fees by 6.5% and increasing wastewater user fees by 9%.

It also includes three additional fulltime employees, including two in utilities and one in engineering, planning and development, and a five percent pay increase for all employees.

Anzivino addressed a few of the challenges the town is facing including an uncertain economy and a return to traditional government funding, referencing the town’s previous ability to use funds from the American Rescue Plan Act and other programs no longer in place. He also reiterated advice he gave to the council in November when he was contracted to perform a staffing analysis.

“We have a challenge with staffing and restaffing of all departments,” he said. “We’re in a highly competitive job market, as many of you might know. There’s still two jobs out there for everybody looking for a job, even though the unemployment rate is in the three to high three percent range.”

Anzivino also said that several of the town’s senior staff would be eligible to retire in 2024.

“You have 12 of 86 employees that are eligible for retirement right now or next for that when you have been sued in your personal capacity, so that is where you’re at,” Hankins said. “If you would like to defend the writ, you would hire attorneys and you would go to court and you would put your case forward. The Town Council as a body has also been named in that petition. I would ordinarily represent the council as body, but I have given advice that is now before the court that is directly contrary to the outcome the council has asked for, and so I would need to recuse

HANKINS continues on page 19 year … your director of finance, your director of administration, your police chief, your deputy police chief, your human resources director, your director of planning, engineering and development and your public works director can all go.”

Anzivino said that despite the challenges that the town will face in fiscal year 2025, including a steep increase in debt payments, the town was in good fiscal shape.

“I know we’re faced with some challenges … significant challenges in fiscal ‘25 in the Sewer Fund, but overall the town is really healthy financially. Everybody has done a good job in building reserves and really taking care of things,” he said.

Mayor Stanley J. Milan thanked Anzivino and said he had some opinions to share, specifically on salary increases, performance bonuses and fund reallocation, but that he would reserve most of his comments for future budget meetings.

The council is scheduled to meet for its next budget session Wednesday, March 22 at 6:30 p.m. n

Lovettsville

Budnar Appointed to Town Council Seat

The Lovettsville Town Council on Monday appointed Tom Budnar to fill the vacant seat left by the resignation of Buchanan Smith.

Budnar serves on the town’s Oktoberfest Committee.

He was one of two people to apply for the position and who were interviewed in a closed session.

“Tom, thank you very much for stepping forward,” Mayor Christopher Hornbaker said. “We did appreciate the round of questioning and the thorough answers and some of the ideas that you bring to the table and some of the work that’s already paid dividends with your short but fruitful service to the town so far. And we look for great things to come.”

Budnar will fill the vacancy until a special election is held on Nov. 7.

Round Hill

Town Reports Sewage Discharge into Sleeter Lake

The Town of Round Hill reported to the Department of Environmental Quality that partially treated wastewater spilled into Sleeter Lake last week.

According to a notice posted by the town, “extreme and unusual weather conditions” contributed to an overflow at the town’s wastewater treatment plant March 15. The filtered, but not treated, influent entered Sleeter Lake near the dam and entered the North Fork of Goose Creek.

Public drinking water sources were not impacted by the spill, according to the town. The plant has returned to normal operations.

Town Administrator Melissa Hynes said the overflow happened during Wednesday’s high winds. It is believed the spill happened between 5 and 7 a.m. The overflow occurred at the influent pump station downstream of the plant’s headworks. Based on a subsequent staff examination of the spill area, they concluded the overflow amount was likely very small relative to the baseline creek flow.

The Department of Environmental Quality is investigating the incident n