Inside A2 Visit local gardens for Earth Week
Powhatan, Virginia B1 3rd annual Powhatan Warrior Run ongoing as virtual race
Vol. XXXIII No. o. 43
April 22, 2020
Supervisors discuss paring down budget By Laura McFarland Editor
P
OWHATAN – The Powhatan County Board of Supervisors acknowledged last week that budgeting for the foreseeable future is going to be a matter of watching revenues like a hawk and being just as vigilant about reducing expenditures. During a special workshop held on Thursday, April 16, the board discussed the need to completely reconsider the county’s fiscal year 2021 operating budget in light of the impact of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.
As one board member put it, the budget process has completely changed from what it was a few months ago when they were looking at a balanced budget with the luxury of considering new positions and capital projects. Now, the next few months especially will be about watching the county’s revenue streams – especially state and local – and moving forward only on essential needs. The supervisors also seem committed to hold off on adopting the budget for as long as possible – with the exception of the school portion that has to be approved in May – with the reasoning that the more time they have to gather
good data, the more informed their choices will be. Bret Schardein, interim county administrator, gave a presentation to the board that looked at some of the scenarios and challenges staff has already identified. One of the key areas he focused on was the FY 2021 revenues from local real estate tax collection. “This is our best guess at some of these numbers right now. They do seem to change daily or weekly as we get more information, but as of today, these are the scenarios we are looking at,” Schardein said to preface his presentation. He emphasized that the board has un-
til the end of June to adopt its budget and that “every single week that goes by we know more than we did the week before, both about this emergency and our financial situation in it.”
Real estate taxes The first half of real estate taxes in Powhatan are due on June 5, and when preparing the budget in the past, the county usually estimates it will have a collection rate of 97 percent or better. However, one of the big worries surrounding the pandemic is that as busisee SUPERVISORS, pg. 6
School board mulls lost revenues, ways to make cuts By Laura McFarland Editor
PHOTO BY LAURA MCFARLAND
Jenny Hammond and her children Zack and Gabby moved into Habitat for Humanity - Powhatan’s 14th house the first weekend in April.
Hammond family feels right at home in 14th Habitat house By Laura McFarland Editor
Prsrt. Standard U.S. POSTAGE PAID Powhatan, VA Permit No.19
POWHATAN – Jenny Hammond put in hundreds of hours of sweat equity over countless nights and weekends on
the house, but it wasn’t until someone handed her the key to the front door that it really sunk in – she was about to be a homeowner. “When they give you keys to somesee HABITAT, pg. 8
FY 2020 The two areas where the FY 2020 budget revenues may potentially be impacted are with the county’s sales tax and other local revenues, Johns said. Sales tax represents 9.7 percent of the total budget. “In regard to sales tax, we have not yet seen any
impact to sales tax, and I do not anticipate seeing any until the May, June, July, and August period. We accrue two months of sales tax, so July and August sales tax will be accrued to FY 20. How much it will be impacted is anybody’s guess,” he said. Staff intends to update the board each month moving forward with revenue figures, so as he starts to notice an impact, Johns said, he will let the board know. In the area of local other revenues, which encompasses areas such as student fees, summer school, tuitions, and facility rentals, the division does not anticipate collecting any more for the rest of the school year, Johns said. The division has collected about 75 see SCHOOL, pg. 4
Tiller keeps moving forward By Laura McFarland Editor
DELIVER TO: Postal Patron Powhatan, VA 23139
POWHATAN – Powhatan County Public Schools is preparing for the worst and hoping for the best as it tries to gather more information to help make sound budget decisions moving forward. During a virtual meeting held on Tuesday, April 14, school board members received an update on both the current status of the fiscal year (FY) 2020 operating budget and projections being made for the FY 2021 budget they need to adopt in May. The closure of schools and the economic impact as a result of COVID-19 will affect both FY 2020 and FY 2021, said Larry Johns, assistant superintendent for finance and business operations. While it is too early to de-
termine the full extent of the impact, staff is being proactive about determining what actions may be necessary as revenues decline. Staff and the school board will be able to make better informed decisions as more information comes in over the next few weeks, but there are already areas staff knows are likely to be impacted, and using what they know, they can begin to formulate plans, he said.
POWHATAN – As Eli Tiller neared the end, he could hear the cheers of the people spread out on either side of Jeter Road. Cheers of “Let’s go Eli!” and excited yells got even louder in the last few seconds. For a moment, it looked like he would head into his driveway out of habit. But in the final seconds, he veered back on course, and with a last pump of his legs on his adaptive bike, he crossed the finish line – a role of toilet paper held by two friends on either side of the street. “It was amazing,” Eli, 20, said of the moment on Sunday, April 5 that he finished his cumulative 54.1-mile triathlon. This was a moment Eli had been
working toward since Feb. 19, when he began his latest cumulative adaptive triathlon. Over the last several months, Eli has been walking, riding, and swimming his way closer to a virtual finish line. Eli has physical and intellectual disabilities from an accident he had when he was 3 years old. He fell from a window in his family’s house in Powhatan and suffered a traumatic brain injury, his dad, John Tiller, said. Last June, Eli started doing virtual races as a way to bring some of the motivation he has when he does physical therapy into the home setting, his mom, Tricia Tiller said. “This was a good way to get him more independent with wantPHOTO COURTESY OF TILLER FAMILY ing to do this kind of exercise,” she Eli Tiller of Powhatan is shown with the medal said. he earned for completing a cumulative 54.1-mile And it has worked – to date Eli see TILLER, pg. 8
triathlon.
Families share their porch time
Porches of Powhatan feature series
Photos by Anjie Kay
By Laura McFarland Editor
POWHATAN – Welcome back to the Porches of Powhatan. In a world where life usually seems to be going a mile minute, porch time is a world of its own. And at a time when the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic is changing the way Americans live and interact, that time has never been more important.
Beginning with the April 15 edition of the Powhatan Today, we introduced our readers to a new feature series called the Porches of Powhatan. Inspired by freelance photographer Anjie Kay’s portraits of local families, the series by Laura McFarland offers snapshots of Powhatan families doing the best they can to live their daily lives in extraordinary times. Last week, you met a passionate volunteer who is driven to help others, a first resee PORCHES, pg. 3