With final passage of a budget by the General Assembly, the Chesterfield County Public Schools board met in a special meeting on June 21 and approved their final fiscal 2023 financial plan. It includes $6 million in one-time bonuses for staff and two-year funding for the Chesterfield Recovery Academy. The latter will get $864,000 this fiscal year and $500,000 next year. With the one-time funds, the school district was able to complete Phase I of Salary Study 2, according to Kimberly Hough, chief of human resources. The salary study began in October last year and compared Chesterfield with 13 other…
Browsing: Chesterfield Government
State Sen. Joe Morrissey is pleased with the Fiscal 2022-24 budget that the General Assembly passed on June 1. He noted the compromise legislation resulted in a 32-4 vote in the Senate. It also passed 88-7 in the House. Morrissey (D-Chester) called the bill “a huge win for Petersburg.” He noted the bill contains two amendments that allow for a Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission study, and with a positive report, a public vote on a casino. The bill also prohibits Richmond from having another vote on a casino until November 2023, which gives Petersburg time to conduct one,…
Although Chesterfield County Public Schools are waiting for a Fiscal Year 2023 budget to be adopted by the General Assembly, school officials are proceeding with salary increases for teachers. During a May 10 work session, the schools’ Chief Financial Officer Robert Meister said the increases will range from 8.6 to 8.8 percent. For beginning teachers, the new salary will jump from $46,000 to $49,481. In addition, he said the schools will keep substitute pay at $101.50 a day along with $203 on Fridays and high demand days. The funding is part of an $899.7 million budget approved by the county…
As part of their April 6 business meeting, the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors approved a fiscal year 2023 budget and a 3-cent reduction in the real estate property tax from 95 to 92 cents per $100 of assessed value. The commodity portion of water and wastewater bills will be going up an average of $1.54 per month from $59.17 to $60.71. However, George Hayes, director of utilities, said Chesterfield’s rates are “the most competitive rates in the region, if not the commonwealth.” The increase is targeted to result in an additional $3.1 million. As part of the $905.5 million…
On March 8, the Chesterfield County Public Schools Board voted to approve the lease of a food warehouse at 13600 Permilla Springs Drive in Chester. The facility is located east of Interstate 95 and south of Route 618 (Old Bermuda Hundred Road).Berkely Dunbrack, director of food and nutrition services, noted this action will cut out the middleman and enable delivery of fresher food to area schools.The deliveries will begin in August with 25 to 30 percent of food products initially and be at 100 percent by August 2023.Due to the school district’s size, it receives few food distribution bids, he said. The…
An impasse over appointees to the state parole board could end up hurting potential parolees, but that could be decided in an upcoming special session. State Sen. Joe Morrissey (D-Chester) said he plans to support any future appointees of Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) to the board, saying the current situation reminds him of the Cuban Missile Crisis. “Someone has to be the bigger person,” he said, noting he worked the back channels among his party in the Senate to try to break the impasse. “I thought what was done by both parties was disgraceful,” Morrissey said. Former Gov. Ralph Northam…
A new animal services facility is planned for Chesterfield County. As part of the consent agenda during the planning commission’s Feb. 15 meeting, the board unanimously recommended approval of a conditional use for such a new facility in the county government complex across the street from Lucy Corr Village nursing home. The 65.5-acre site houses the county’s current animal services building. The new facility would also be built on the property. It would house up to 78 dogs and 57 cats and include an outside barn for non-domesticated animals. Office and conference room space would be included, along with an…
State Sen. Joe Morrissey (D) and state Sen. Amanda Chase (R) provided an update on some pending legislation in the General Assembly last weekend. Senate Bill 313, a replacement bill that Morrissey submitted that would have allowed industrial hemp growers in the state to sell marijuana to those without a medical marijuana card, failed 21-19 on Feb. 15. Morrissey said the bill would help hemp farmers in Virginia. It had the support of 15 Republicans and four Democrats. In addition to Morrissey, other Democrats who supported the bill were John J. Bell, Lionel Spruill and Chap Petersen. Republicans who voted…
On Jan. 18, the Chesterfield County Planning Commission heard an update from county officials about the existing Meadowville commercial development and a proposed rezoning of the Magnolia Green residential/commercial development. In considering the pending Magnolia Green commercial development, Economic Development Director Garrett Hart noted that Meadowville has taken over 20 years to develop. The 1,300-acre Bermuda site has around 600 acres left to develop, he said. It was purchased by the county in 1994 for $15.5 million, but land sales to date have totaled $25.2 million with 3,500-plus employees and $3.3 million in taxes paid per year. The latter equates…
By a 3-2 vote, the Chesterfield County school board decided during a special meeting on Jan. 20 to continue a mask mandate for students that it imposed last August. The session was called due to an executive order by new Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) that essentially gave the decision regarding student mask use to parents. A federal regulation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still requires mask use on school buses. The school board’s decision only related to school property. After discussion, Bermuda member Ann Coker, who was voted board chair during an earlier meeting in January, made…