[New] County looks at new incentive for fire, EMS

LAURA MCFARLAND Managing Editor

POWHATAN – The Powhatan County Board of Supervisors recently agreed to consider adopting an ordinance to implement a reduction in personal property tax for volunteer fire and rescue members.

During the meeting on Monday, Dec. 19, 2022, the board heard a request from fire and rescue chief Phil Warner asking for the change for any rostered volunteer fire or rescue member, including life members and auxiliary members. His proposal was to change to a 75% personal property tax rate for those who meet specific requirements.

This was not an action item at the meeting. The board expected to hold a public hearing on the ordinance change. However, interim county administrator Bret Schardein said Friday the board actually does not need to take further action to implement this.

“Our ordinance set’s the rate at .01 and the fire chief sets the policy with approval from the board for who is eligible for the rate, so we just need to update our policy to implement what was agreed to at the last meeting,” he said.

Historically, the board of supervisors has been very generous to local fire and rescue members through a two-tiered process, Warner explained. Volunteers previously had the vehicle license fee the county charged waived for them, but that fee was eliminated in 2022.

The second level of tax incentive is for active members who live in Powhatan and meet specific criteria of 37 points, which can be gathered through duty hours, participating in calls and training hours. Those volunteers are charged .001 for their personal property tax on the vehicle they use to respond to the stations.

Warner proposed an idea brought to his attention by commissioner of the revenue Jamie Timberlake. The proposal would have a reduced tax rate for eligible members on a roster. He recommended a 75% personal property tax rate for those members.

The qualifying factors of the current policy would continue to apply to the proposed policy. Based off the average personal property tax of $600 in Powhatan County, this would give each of the rostered volunteers a $150 tax reduction on average, Warner said. The number of volunteers eligible for this incentive will change annually. He forecasted 100 to 125 members could be included in this incentive, which would mean an estimated $15,000 to $20,000 annual implication for lost county revenue.

The board did not have any comments on the vote other than to thank volunteers for their service to the county.

Other business handled at the meeting included:

„ The board briefly discussed a request from the Powhatan Department of Social Services regarding the county’s GIS system.

The county operates both internal and external GIS systems. The external public system can be accessed on the county’s website.

Concern was raised by social services employees about allowing addresses to be looked up by the owner’s name. Virginia Code Section 18.2-186.4:1 only covers a “Public Official” which is defined in the code as any state or federal judge or justice, law enforcement officer, or attorney for the Commonwealth may have their names redacted. It does not address removing names for any other public employees or citizens.

The concern raised was that the system could be used to track down the address of staff or citizens involved in contentious cases or disputes, such as social services workers or domestic violence situations, according to the board documents. Counties are not required to have a public GIS system and for those that do offer such service, nothing in State Code requires names be displayed in GIS.

The board discussed the issue of making a change but there was generally no support for the idea and it was not scheduled for future consideration.

„ There were six items on the consent agenda, which passed unanimously. Included among them were a few key items.

The board of supervisors directed staff at the Oct. 24, 2022, meeting to hire a consultant to update Powhatan County’s Compensation and Classification Plan. Staff researched cooperative procurement opportunities with consultants who provide these services. The county received two proposals for compensation and classification plan consulting services. After evaluating

CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

On Dec. 11, Unity Community Church teamed up with the County Seat Restaurant and Gathering Place for the second “Gospel Brunch” in three months. This time the church was approached to present a “Christmas Gospel Brunch” with Amanda Joy Powell, The Byscuit Eater, The Unified Prayzers, and the Sounds of Thunder Praise Band to celebrate the Savior and his birth, plus unite the community. The food, fellowship and music could not have been better! Christmas, worship and praise, and gospel music filled the room. Boxes of Christmas toys were collected for the Powhatan Christmas Mother.

GracelandBaptistChurch Dr.RonaldWyatt,Jr.,Pastor Contemporary–9:00a.m. Sund aySchool–9:45a.m. Worship–11a.m. Children’sWorship–11a.m. Praise&Worship–6p.m. Light houseYouth–Wed.5:30p.m. BibleStudy–Wed.6:30p.m. Children’sWorship(allages)–Wed.6:30p.m. MiraclesofGod Sp.NeedsService: 11a.m.t he 2nd Mon.ofeachmonth 598-34 81 •975DorsetRoad www.gracelandbc.org