Supervisors handle off-duty work by deputies, Columbia renewal and registrar pay

By Heather Michon
Correspondent

The Fluvanna Board of Supervisors had a short agenda and a relatively short public meeting on Wednesday (June 2), clocking in at just over 90 minutes before entering closed session.

ORDINANCE CHANGE

Fluvanna County sheriffs’ deputies are often hired to work as off-duty security officers or for traffic control.

This is something that has been going on for decades and is so common the sheriff’s office has policies and procedures in place to regulate the activity.

But County Attorney Fred Payne said they have recently come to understand that the Board of Supervisors has to have an ordinance on the books to permit this kind of off-duty work.

“I don’t think this is at all controversial,” said Payne. “The sheriff already has regulations for it. It’s simply to regularize a practice that has been in use for a very long time.”

Supervisors voted 4-0 to approve the advertisement for a public hearing on the ordinance on July 7. Chair Mike Sheridan arrived at the meeting after the vote was made.

CARE TASK FORCE

County Administrator Eric Dahl requested a six-month extension to the charter for the Columbia Area Renewal Effort (CARE) Task Force.

Established in 2017 to improve conditions in the former town, Dahl said “it wasn’t meant to be a forever task force,” but that the members had a couple more projects they would like to complete, and wouldn’t be able to do so before the charter expired on June 30.

The extension would allow the task force to stay in place until Dec. 31.

Supervisor Mozell Booker (Fork Union) said that several of the properties visible from Rt. 6 still seemed to be in bad condition. Dahl told her that there were six formal complaints currently in process.

The county works with individual property owners to get the properties in safe and sanitary condition. In extreme cases, where the owners are unable or unwilling to make the needed repairs, supervisors could give the county permission to repair or demolish the property. Owners would be charged for the cost of repairs or removal.

REGISTRAR PAY

Under new rules passed by the General Assembly in 2021, County Registrar Joyce Pace will see a pay increase of around $18,000 in FY22.

Dahl said the registrar’s pay will jump from $65,230 to $83,484 under the new legislation.

However, since the legislation stipulates that the state will pay the full salary, Fluvanna County will actually save money.

Previously, the county had been expected to contribute a portion of the salary, with around $11,000 originally earmarked in the budget.

Electoral Board Chair Catherine Hobbs said the state hadn’t really looked at pay for general registrars since the 1970s, when county registrars in particular were little more than clerks. With changes in the complexity and scope of the work in recent decades, she felt this was a mandate whose time had come.

Dahl said the only question was if the registrar would still be eligible for the 5 percent cost-of-living increase passed in the budget in April. Supervisors agreed she fit the criteria for the increase.