Supervisors told one-third of county residents vaccinated

By Heather Michon
Correspondent

One-third of Fluvanna County residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccines and 20 percent have received two doses, County Administrator Eric Dahl told supervisors at the start of their regular meeting on Wednesday (March 17).

The county is urging all residents to sign up for their vaccinations through the state’s Vaccinate.Virginia.gov website, or by calling 877-VAX-IN-VA (1-887-829-4682). Blue Ridge Health District is setting up local clinics for residents to receive their vaccinations, and those clinics are likely to increase along with the district’s allocation of vaccine doses in the coming weeks.

Supervisors voted to approve the text for a notice of public hearing on the FY22 budget, capital improvement plans (CIP), and advertised tax rates.

The proposed budget has increased to $109.8 million after supervisors decided to increase the CIP budget by about $25 million through debt funding. Due to the pandemic, last year’s CIP allocation was only a few thousand dollars.

Personal property taxes, business taxes, and machinery and tools taxes will stay at the same rate as FY21. The advertised real estate rate will be $0.884 per $100.

The public hearing will take place on April 14, with the final vote on the budget currently scheduled for April 21. If more time is needed, they can hold the final vote at a special session on April 28.

Supervisors also approved a public hearing for a temporary ordinance change that will give taxpayers a little more time to pay their property tax without penalties. Tax bills will still be due by June 5, but penalties and interest rates won’t be applied until June 30.

In other action matters, members voted to approve a $13,000 budget transfer to the Fluvanna County Public Library to upgrade its audio system.

They also voted to allocate $20,000 in county funds and a $10,000 funds transfer from the Fluvanna County Historical Society to conduct a report on the Historic Courthouse in Palmyra. This study will help the county come up with a long-term preservation plan for the 1831 Greek Revival building.

County Attorney Fred Payne discussed some of the issues with the upcoming 2021 redistricting plan.

The release of critical 2020 census data has been delayed until sometime in fall 2021, while state law requires redistricting to take place in time for candidates to run for new or redrawn districts in the November elections.

Payne said the state statutes don’t anticipate a hold-up in the federal census data, which is critical in drawing districts of equal population sizes and in the decision by localities to add new districts.

As an interim solution, county staff will use partial census returns and building permits to come up with a tentative districting plan.

In the coming weeks, the county will develop a structure to allow the public to listen in and comment on redistricting plans.