Inside A3 Free Clinic advises actions to boost vaccine response
Powhatan, Virginia B1 Track and field standout Greenhow wins two state championships
Vol. XXXIV No. o. 36
March 10, 2021
County administrator presents official recommended budget to supervisors By Laura McFarland Editor
POWHATAN – The Powhatan County Board of Supervisors was back to discussing the county’s financial forecasts last week as members shared some of their initial reactions to the county administrator’s proposed fiscal year (FY) 2022 budget. During a workshop held on Friday, March 5, the board members discussed the official budget recommendation, which county administrator Ned Smither released on Monday, March 1. A copy of the budget can be found on the county’s website at http://www.powhatanva.gov/ DocumentCenter/Index/301. Despite proposing an FY 2022 budget that would be significantly higher than the past two years, Smither’s proposal actually includes a 2-cent real estate tax rate decrease, which would put the tax
rate at 83 cents if approved. Smither provided the board with a few different ways to look at the budget totals using charts that take various funding sources and uses into account. On each of the charts, the revenues and expenditures proposed for FY 2022 do not yet balance. On a chart that looks at all fund revenues and expenditures net of inter-fund transfers, the proposed revenues would total $95.07 million, which is an increase of 10.6% ($9.1 million) over the FY 2021 adopted budget revenues. Currently, the FY 2022 proposed expenditures are listed as $100.41 million, or an increase of 16.8% ($14.45 million). Everyone involved has acknowledged that FY 2021 was a very different year with highly conservative measures, but even when compared to the FY 2020 actual audited numbers, the proposed FY 2022 figures represent a significant in-
crease. The FY 2022 proposed revenues were budgeted at $6.59 million (7.45%) over FY 2020 actuals. The expenditures for 2022 are budgeted at $8.93 million (9.76%) over the FY 2020 actuals. This is significant since county staff used FY 2020 as a base of reference because it was the last full year of operations prior to the supervisors’ conservative budget. The FY 2022 budget addresses a sizeable investment in the first year of Smither’s planned 10-year Capital Improvement Program (CIP). The proposed CIP includes many improvements that are consistent with the county’s strategic plan, many of which improve facilities within the county, and some providing new facilities as needed. The 89-page budget document laid out the background information and considerations that went in the budget, such as new positions and CIP projects. Some of the key features of the budget were
Free Clinic opens in new location By Laura McFarland Editor
POWHATAN – On a recent tour of the freshly opened new home of the Free Clinic of Powhatan, executive director Connie Moslow paused in the doorway that connects the lobby to the rest of the building. This view, she said with a sweeping gesture, is the reason this is her favorite spot in the newly renovated building on Skaggs Road. From there she could see the long hallway full of doors leading to rooms where people in need will receive the medical, dental, and mental health services they need in a bright, modern space. “Every time I go through this building I smile. Truthfully I never thought we would have what we have. To me this is beautiful,” she said with a grin. The Free Clinic officially opened its doors to patients in its new location at 2320 Skaggs Road
Prsrt. Standard U.S. POSTAGE PAID Powhatan, VA Permit No.19
see CLINIC pg. 8
Highlights Smither’s executive summary highlights some key features in how he and his staff built the budget. He pointed out that the board of supervisors took great pains in June 2020 to adopt a fiscally restrained FY 2021 budget “that curtailed spending and reduced estimates for revenue sources including real estate, personal property, and sales tax.” However, as fall and winter passed, it became apparsee COUNTY, pg. 4
Broadband project rollout delayed but moving forward
PHOTO BY LAURA McFARLAND
Connie Moslow shows off an exam room in the newly renovated Free Clinic of Powhatan.
Court to fill District 2 seat By Laura McFarland Editor
DELIVER TO: Postal Patron Powhatan, VA 23139
brought out through an executive summary within the document from Smither. Others were highlighted during the board’s discussion. Rather than a linear examination of the document, the March 5 discussion was driven by board members’ questions about certain aspects of it and issues with some of the plans in the budget.
POWHATAN – The Powhatan County Board of Supervisors decided last week to allow the circuit court to choose who will fill the vacant District 2 supervisor seat. The board met to discuss the issue in a closed session held during a special meeting on Wednesday, March 3 called solely for that purpose. After coming out of the closed session, which lasted less than 20 minutes, chairwoman Karin Carmack, who represents District 5, read a statement announcing the board’s intention not to choose the person who will serve as their interim fellow board member. “After careful consideration and review of a number of exceptional candidates for District 2 supervisor, we have unanimously determined that the most prudent, non-
partisan, objective course of action is to allow the circuit court judge to determine the appointee. We are excited to serve with any of the potential candidates and look forward to a productive time together until the Nov. 2 special election,” she said. According to state code, the board of supervisors has 45 days from the vacancy left when Larry Nordvig resigned effective Jan. 31 to make an interim appointment. If the members of the board of supervisors “cannot agree, or do not act,” the decision will fall to the circuit court judges. In response to an inquiry from the Powhatan Today, Powhatan County Circuit Court Judge Paul Cella wrote in a letter on March 5 that the circuit court judges were awaiting written notification from the supervisors. “Upon receipt of written confir-
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Hanna Mauck works remotely at her home in the State Farm area. Working from home was a necessity because of the pandemic, but it was also a nightmare until a county-led broadband project led to homes in her area getting high speed internet access. The project is continuing with more customers connecting each week.
By Laura McFarland Editor
POWHATAN – While significant weather delays slowed completion on a county-backed broadband project funded with federal dollars, the internet provider doing the work said installations and hookups are now moving forward at a good pace. Beginning in September 2020, Hosted Backbone LLC was hired by the county using federal CARES Act funds for broadband installation in several population dense parts of the county that are currently underserved with internet services. An agreement with the Powhatan County Board of Supervisors authorized the company to lay fiber in small areas of Districts 2, 3, and 5 with concentrated areas of homes. After an incredibly wet and cold winter, Hosted Backbone was able to finish constructing all of the unsee BROADBAND, pg. 5
see SEAT, pg. 4
Division sees exponential growth in student meals By Laura McFarland Editor
POWHATAN – Powhatan County Public Schools staff recently learned the division had ranked first in the region for the significant increase it has seen in meals provided to students. The school division was notified on Feb. 24 that a
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
PCPS employees deliver meals to virtual students during a Wednesday distribution.
comparison of meal counts from October 2019 to October 2020 showed a 165% increase in meal counts for the year, said Dorothy Kohler, general manager for Sodexo School Services, the contractor that handles school meals. A number of factors contributed to this increase – most notably the fact that the see MEALS, pg. 6