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Vol. 37, No. 33 | Richmond Suburban News | November 24, 2021
Public hearing set for redistricting plan By Jim Ridolphi For The Mechanicsville Local
Jim Ridolphi / The Local
Mayor Steve Trivett welcomes visitors to the lawn at Town Hall in Ashland where approximately 1,000 gathered to light up the tree and begin Ashland’s glorious Holiday celebration, Light Up the Tracks. Several council members commented on the success of the project at last week’s council meeting.
Heritage park result of community partnerships By Jim Ridolphi For The Mechanicsville Local A plan to construct a heritage park in the Berkleytown area of Ashland gathered momentum at last week’s Ashland Town Council meeting. The panel unanimously endorsed an action item that formally placed the proposed site under Town con-
trol. Hanover-King William Habitat for Humanity donated the property to the town. Town Manger Josh Farrar said accepting a piece of property does not usually warrant council action, “but this one has a story to it and we wanted to make sure to present it to you and share the story.” see HERITAGE, pg. 14
Hanover supervisors approved a request for a public hearing next month regarding the adjustment of magisterial districts in the county. The U.S. Constitution requires localities to provide equal and proportional representation, and the Constitution of Virginia mandates that localities redistrict every 10 years. The state requires that “election districts shall be composed of contiguous and compact territory and shall be constituted as to give, as nearly as practicable, represen-
tation in proportion to the population of the district.” “The county’s magisterial districts are subject to redistricting requirements set forth in the constitution of Virginia,” County Attorney Dennis Walter said. The courts have also been injected into the redistricting discussion and process and endorsed the one person, one vote concept and encouraged strict compliance. However, court decisions have also codified that some mathematical deviation is acceptable and have accepted a 5% rate as acceptable. see REDISTRICTING, pg. 8
Jim Ridolphi / The Local
County Attorney Dennis Walter presented a draft redistricting plan and asked supervisors to approve a public hearing Dec. 8. The plan must be submitted to the Commonwealth’s Attorney General’s Office by Dec. 31,2021.
Final FY21 financial numbers exceed projections By Jim Ridolphi For The Mechanicsville Local
Jim Ridolphi / The Local
Departing Finance Director Jacob Sumner.
Finance Division Director Lauren Null told supervisors the financial news was good for Hanover County as she presented a positive annual financial report for the fiscal year that ended June 30 earlier this month. Null shared the annual financial report with board members at a meeting earlier this month and the full financial report is
available on the county’s website. “Fiscal Year 2021 revenues totaled $280.6 million, which is 5% higher than the appropriated budget,” Null said. “Final yearend transfers and expenditures totaled $258 million, or 94% of the appropriated budget.” Those figures resulted in a positive operating balance for the county that totaled $31.2 million. “The combination of additional
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see FY21, pg. 15
