August Board highlights

 

The people’s business must be done, even in the dog days of summer. On August 2, the Goochland Board of Supervisors had a relatively light afternoon agenda.

Audit Committee

A meeting of the county audit committee met for the annual audit kick-off. Mike Garber, a partner with PBMares, the outside accounting firm retained by the county to conduct its yearly audit and prepare the annual certified financial report (ACFR). The county has worked with PBMares for several years. The Committee decided to retain PBMares for one more year before investigating a different auditing firm to allow recently hired County Administrator Vic Carpenter and Director of Financial Services Carla Cave to settle in.

Garber reported that once again, Goochland County is a low-risk auditee having completed a clean audit.

Cave presented projected results for FY22, which ended on June 30, showing an excess of revenues over expenditures of almost $9 million. The county finances are strong, but, Cave cautioned, inflationary trends could paint a very different picture next year. She recommended adjustments to the FY22 budget for $75k to Parks and Recreation, whose intake in fees exceeded its budget, and $121K, $21k of which is federal grant money, for Social Services to adjust for unbudgeted bonuses, increased program usage, and changes in employee health insurance coverage.

(To listen to this meeting go to the county website https://www.goochlandva.us/ click on watch county meetings and select the August 2 session.)

Recognition

Anita Barnes and Neil Spoonhower (Goochland County photo)

At the start of their afternoon meeting, the supervisors recognized Anita Barnes, who is resigning after 33 years of service with the county, most recently as Zoning Administrator. When Barnes began her tenure with Goochland, the planning office was a two-person operation. As that function expanded, Barnes contributed her extensive institutional knowledge of the county to expand excellent service to our citizens.

 

Fire-Rescue

The supervisors joined Goochland Fire-Rescue Chief D.E. “Eddie” Ferguson, Jr. in commending Goochland fire medic Morgan D. Kingston, of the Courthouse Company 5 A Shift, and presenting him with the Fire-Rescue Lifesaver Award for his actions on May 29, 2022. Responding to a distress call on a day when the James River was above flood stage, Kingston leaped into the water to rescue someone who went under trying to catch a personal flotation device after having been trapped in a “strainer” during an outing.  Ferguson reminded everyone that the James River can be very dangerous, especially at flood stage, and to wear personal flotation devices.

Battalion Chief Blake Markey, Morgan Kingston, Fire-Rescue Chief Eddie Ferguson, Deputy Chief Mike Watkins (Goochland County photo)

Goochland Fire-Rescue earned another American Heart Association “Mission Lifeline Award”. This year’s award is at the SILVER PLUS level due to the department’s volume of cardiac emergencies in 2021. This recognition is a direct reflection of the Department’s ability to deliver state-of-the-art prehospital cardiac and stroke care and represents a team effort by all involved. Our fire-rescue providers are well-trained and equipped to deliver the highest standard of patient care.

See the full August Fire-Rescue report beginning on page 39 of the August 2 board packet for details of operations and activities.

A fire-rescue show to demonstrate the skills of our providers will be held on October 8 at Goochland High School beginning at 6 p.m. The event will kick off fire prevention week and conclude with a small fireworks display. Please attend to meet our first responders and see how their skills serve the community.

Compensation study

Excellent governmental service to our citizens does not happen by accident. It’s no secret that entities of all sorts are fiercely competing to recruit and retain the best people.

Because of its small population and budget relative to our neighbors, salary scales in Goochland have not kept pace. The county hired Evergreen Solutions, LLC to conduct a benchmark study to see how compensation in Goochland compares with our larger neighbors and suggest ways for us to compete.

Project Manager Stasey Whichel said that her work examined the county’s compensation plan and how well it worked. Results of an anonymous survey conducted among 280 employees found that people came to work for Goochland County because it was close to home. They liked the benefits, and the compensation initially brought them here, but has become a concern as our neighbors offer fatter paychecks.  Employees stayed, contended Whichel, because of relationships, leadership, and support for staff.

Out of date job descriptions and a desire for more career path opportunities was identified as a reason for employees leaving. Following Covid, said Whichel, people asked for health and wellness support. She was a bit vague about what that might entail.

Whichel said that the study revealed that Goochland’s competitiveness in the market had slipped indicating that 94 percent of county employee compensation was below the region midpoint, which increases employee turnover.

Recommended salary adjustments and position reclassifications hope to avoid salary compression that occurs when the salary of a new hire is comparable to that of a long-term employee with the same skill set.

Cost of living was another factor considered in the study. While fuel and groceries cost pretty much the same throughout the region, housing in Goochland is more expensive.

Whichel said that her firm will help implement the new pay and classification system.

Long story short (go to the video of the afternoon session at about the 1:12 minute marker to hear the entire presentation) the supervisors voted to amend the FY2023 budget so that employees will receive salary increases to address some the disparities with other jurisdictions. The total cost is estimated at approximately $753,305. This amount was approved and adopted in non-departmental expenses through the original budget process and must be transferred to the various departments to cover their added costs. Affected employees will see this raise in their August 15 paychecks.

Neighboring jurisdictions are juggling the same recruitment and retention problem for good employees. Goochland has good employees, who should be compensated as well as we can manage.