A number of high-profile county departments want more money in their budgets for the coming fiscal year, which begins on July 1.
One who does not is Sheriff Shannon Zeman, who is actually asking for less funds.
Zeaman says he can make do with less because he pretty much got what he asked for last year and because he was able to use drug seizure funds to buy an additional squad car.
While Zeaman can make do with what he has, other departments say they need more and County Supervisors are wondering what the final cost will be when the biggest part of the budget — the school system’s request — comes in at the end of the month.
With federal and state aid dwindling and costs going up, the schools are hurting. Class sizes are increasing and teacher salaries continue to linger at the bottom of the scale when compared to other areas of Virginia. A long line of speakers at a recent public hearing told the Board of Supervisors they want to see increases in teacher salaries and decreases in class sizes at the county’s one high school and four elementary units.
In other departments, Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephanie Murray Shortt wants funds for an full-time assistant prosecutor, the Electoral Board needs money for new computerized voting machines, the library wants to increase salaries and pay for repairs and the sanitation needs cash to pay to protect workers from toxic fumes.
The supervisors will have to consider a tax increase at a time when most Floyd County families are barely able to make ends meet now.
3 thoughts on “Most county departments want more money for next year; the Sheriff does not”
“…..most Floyd County families are barely able to make ends meet now.”
Yeah, really!! They need to learn how to spend our tax money more responsibly before asking for more of it.
I see where Pulaski just landed another new employer bringing over 200 jobs and adding to the industrial tax base. Exactly what does Floyd’s economic development director actually do? Haven’t seen any real results there. Guess it’s just easier to fund the county’s needs on the backs of the real estate owners. It would be interesting to see the current real estate tax delinquency rate.
Pulaski has an Interstate highway running right by it, four-lane roads, rail service and other amenities that such employers look for. Floyd has none of these and, Economic Director Lydeanna Martin has told the board that such companies automatically eliminate communities like Floyd because it lacks the level of services they believe they need.
Floyd also does not have a hospital, natural gas or large building sites for companies that would employ hundreds of workers. The county’s Economic Development Committee is developing an innovation center that will serve smaller, more specialized companies, that could consider areas like Floyd.
Many studies have shown that people chose to live in Floyd County because of the rural, undeveloped character of the community. You can’t have it both ways.
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