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| Delegates Tom Garrett and May Nivar listen to Goochland officials |
Virginia is Dillon’s Rule state, which means that localities
like Goochland have only those powers specifically given to them by the General
Assembly. Each of the 100 members of the House of Delegates represents about
85,000 people; the 40 state senators about 215,000. As Goochland’s population
is approximately 29,000, we share representatives with other jurisdictions.
District boundaries are revised after each decennial U S
census, the most recent in 2020. Currently, Goochland is represented in the
House of Delegates by Democrat May Nivar, whose 57th District
includes parts of eastern Goochland and western Henrico; and Republican Tom
Garrett, whose 56th District includes most of Goochland and
Appomattox, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Cumberland, and part of Prince Edward County.
Go to https://vga.virginia.gov/
to learn more about the General Assembly.
Each year, Goochland prepares a legislative agenda, a list
of issues of concern to the county that could be negatively impacted by General
Assembly actions and meets with our deletion to share insights into these
matters. The 2027 Goochland Legislative Agenda is included in the September 1,
3 p.m. agenda packet available on the county website https://www.goochlandva.us/ under the “watch
county meetings tab”.
On September 1, Nivar and Garrett—State Senator Luther
Cifers, whose 10th District includes Goochland, was unable to attend—met
with the board of supervisors, members of the school board, Economic Development
Authority, and Constructional Officers Amanda Adams Clerk of the Court and
Commonwealth’s Attorney John Lumpkins, Jr. The 90-minute session was a good
conversation among those who represent Goochland at various levels. Highlights
follow.
The legislative agenda is broken into broad themes that
include: protect and preserve local governing authority over land use, revenue
collection; oppose unfunded mandates, and support Second Amendment rights; support
measures to mitigate the effect of state facilities and exempt property on the
local tax base and provide a detailed plan regarding removal and/or adaptive
reuse of Department of Corrections installations; fully support transfer of the
Reynolds Community College property in Courthouse Village to the exclusive ownership
of the county for workforce education including advanced pharmaceutical
manufacturing training; and support of fair and sustainable funding formulas
that do not place an undue burden on localities.
Garrett lauded Goochland for holding the session, which helps
him understand how specific legislation either helps or harms the county. He
believes that decisions directly impacting communities should be made locally,
not “by people who will never drive through your county.” He said the best he can do is fight for these
decisions to be made close to home, not by the State Corporation Commission,
because each locality has different needs.
Garrett cited a bill that would have determined siting of large-scale
solar facilities and accompanying battery storage at the state level as an
example. He also said that “very clear lines” need to be drawn around the use
of Flock cameras to protect individual freedoms.
State legislators
wade through thousands of bills during annual sessions that vary between 45 and
60 days. Garrett contended that Goochland is blessed to have GA representation
on both sides of the aisle.
Nivar concurred that learning firsthand about issues that
concern Goochland helps her evaluate bills during a session and encouraged Goochland
to keep her office informed about county concerns with pending legislation. She
contended that both sides of the aisle agree on many topics but have different
ideas on how to achieve specific goals. Nivar contended that Virginia’s energy
future is one of the most important issues currently facing the state. She has
great appreciation for the work of the State Corporation Commission in the
energy sphere but did not go into detail. Despite common themes, Nivar
acknowledged that “one size does not fit all.”
County Administrator Dr. Jeremy Raley welcomed the delegates
and gave a brief history of the Central High School Educational and Cultural
Center, which was built as an African American high school before integration,
served as the county middle school and was renovated for its current function
as a vital county facility.
Raley echoed comments made by both Garrett and Nivar that decisions
relating to Goochland are best made locally, not in Richmond.
Of major concern is pending legislation to mandate collective
bargaining for government employees and the significant fiscal impact that
could have locally, especially on the school budget. Pushback against the
Valley Link transmission line, is another hot topic.
Jonathan Lyle, District 5 wanted to know if sales tax collected
by the state for e commerce, and transient occupancy tax for Air BnBs goes to
the locality that generates it. Goochland has many homes with out of county zip
codes, homes in Mosaic, for instance have Richmond addresses. Lyle wants
assurance that the Virginia Department of Taxation does indeed have a method to
determine the exact locality in which these sales taxes are generated and remit
them accordingly. “If we’re going to tax people, let’s make sure that the
people who pay the tax get the benefit,” said Lyle.
He too expressed concerns about the collective bargaining
issue. While collective bargaining might make sense in larger localities in
Northern Virginia, it does not here. “Teachers like teaching in Goochland. I absolutely
want to compensate our teachers well.” He prefers making this a local option,
not a state mandate.
Lyle said that counties do not have the power to require
property sellers to disclose things like the ad valorem tax levied on property
in the Tuckahoe Creek Service District or details about nearby properties to
enable buyers to make informed decisions before signing on the dotted line. He would
like to see that removed.
Garrett opposes an initiative to allow localities to add one
cent to their sales tax rate to build schools because not everyone is able to
shop where they live. Indeed, many Goochlanders who shop in Short Pump or Zion
Crossroads help other localities build schools.
Garret said that the money Chesterfield County would spend
on collective bargaining would fund more than 300 teachers. He said that
Goochland has done things right and should not be punished with another
unfunded mandate. He contended that the GA understands just how onerous
collective bargaining for public employees is because it carved out an exclusion
for its own staff from the measure.
Nivar agreed that Goochland and Henrico are doing the right
things for their employees, but not all localities are. She believes that
public employees should have a seat at the table to have the ability to
negotiate what fair pay is and have their voices heard. She supports the collective
bargaining mandate and noted that the one percent extra sales tax levy is a
local choice.
Goochland School Superintendent Dr. Andy Armstrong thanked
Garrett and Nivar for being engaged with Goochland Schools. He said that school
divisions where teachers are not paid well work in mold infested schools need collective
bargaining; Goochland does not. Collective bargaining would cost Goochland
about $1million in administrative costs.
The School Division would prefer the state move to a student-weighted
funding formula for public schools that prioritizes funding based on student
needs and recognizes unique characteristics of local, especially rural communities.
Armstrong contended that each of Virginia’s 131 school divisions has a unique
character and giving them more flexibility will enable them to better serve the
unique needs of their students.
The dreaded local composite index (LCI) was a thread that
wove through the discussion. LCI is the mechanism used to calculate the percentage
of school and constitutional officer costs paid by the state government, essentially
the ability of a county to pay its own way. It is a source of fiscal heartburn for
most localities in the Commonwealth,
Goochland’s LCI is 80, which means that we pay 80 percent of
local costs, the same as Alexandria and Fairfax. Henrico’s is 43. The LCI formula
uses real property value, adjusted gross income, and retail sales to determine local
ability to pay. It takes relatively few affluent taxpayers in a small
population to make the adjusted gross income component meaningless.
“Decisions made in Richmond with all good intent are masked
by the local composite index,” Raley observed.
Neil Spoonhower, District 2 expressed frustration that the
LCI also impacts Contutional Offices leaving the county to make up the difference
often after the local annual balanced budget is approved. “If the General
Assembly decides that certain employees get a $1,000 bonus, Goochland has to
come up with $800.”
Nivar, who sits on the counties, cities and towns
subcommittee, said she was not familiar with the LCI and asked for help in understanding
how it works for Goochland in a separate meeting.
Board Chair Jonathan Christy, District 1 expressed frustration
that power hungry data centers in Northen Virginia can despoil rural land for
Valley Link without any mandate requiring them to generate power closer to
where it is needed.
Garrett said that the fight against Valley Link is a math
game. Most GA reps, including powerful committee chairs, come from a few
counties in northern Virginia, which benefit mightily from data center revenue.
“It doesn’t have to be there,” he said
of the proposed power line route. He contended that 80 percent of the state is
getting told what to do by the other 20 percent. “Land use decisions should be
made at the local level. I have opinion on lots of stuff, but it’s not my job
to tell localities what to do. This is not a republican or democrat issue it’s
what important to the people I serve.”
Nivar said that the voices of Goochland residents who have
made it clear that they don’t want Valley Link is important. She pointed out that
ultimately the Valley Link decision will be made by the SCC.
The supervisors unanimously adopted their agenda later in
the day. It is included in its entirety in the September 1 board packet.
