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damn i didn’t realize this joint session of charlottesville city council & the albemarle county board of supervisors was gonna be such a popular meeting - i only barely got a seat.
“we have decided to have these more frequently to get more things accomplished,” says mayor walker, calling the meeting to order.
i’m in the very back and cannot see at all and can barely hear! this isn’t ideal.
first up is city attorney john blair addressing appointments to regional bodies. there are 6 bodies with joint city-county appointments and apparently there isn’t a well defined procedure for these appointments. 
historically they’ve just alternated making the appointments and given the other jurisdiction the opportunity to approve the choice. they’re proposing an MOU formalizing a 90 day approval period.
no objections to blair’s proposal for the city & county attorneys to move forward with drafting that memorandum of understanding.
moving on to discussion of the city/county revenue sharing agreement. the agreement was originally signed for FY 1982/83.
the FY20 payment is $1.5mil lower than the FY19 payment 👀
the amount has been steadily decreasing since 2011.
the FY20 payment is $1.5mil lower than the FY19 payment 👀
the amount has been steadily decreasing since 2011.
“in all fairness, i drive on city roads. i use, occasionally, city parks,” says county supervisor diantha mckeel. but she wants to see a clearer discussion of how the revenue sharing money is spent.
“i don’t think your city residents spend any time at all thinking about the revenue sharing,” mckeel says, but her constituents ask about it often. the city treasurer’s presentation shows those dollars go to joint programs like the jail, roads, and parks.
county supervisor ann mallek says she thought they were going to hear a more specific accounting of where those dollars were being allocated.
county supervisor liz palmer says all these programs and facilities are great but this doesn’t really answer any of the questions they have about specifically what’s being funded with the revenue sharing dollars.
mayor walker asks the attorneys for input. both the city and county attorneys agree that this report meets the statutory requirements for reporting how the money is being used.
county supervisor normal dill seems to be siding with the city here - he says it sounds like palmer, mckeel, and mallek are looking to exert some kind of control over how the money they’re required to pay is being spent.
mayor walker says if the county supervisors are of the mind that the county shouldn’t even have to pay this money, that’s putting a lot of sway on the narrative. (that’s pretty spicy)
county supervisor rick randolph says it’s not unreasonable to have signs that say “this project partly funded with albemarle county revenue sharing”
that... doesn’t seem like it would make the $15mil pill easier to swallow.
that... doesn’t seem like it would make the $15mil pill easier to swallow.
“if you all are not trusting the process for some reason, then that’s part of the discussion,” mayor walker says.
randolph says no one is interested in a pedantic accounting of the money down to the penny, just a general idea of where the money is being spent.
signer says the city is the geographic center of the broader community and invests in a broad range of investments in infrastructure and programs that serve the population without drawing a distinction between city and county residents.
“that’s what our budget is. check our our budget,” signer tells randolph.
i mean... money is fungible. that $15mil went into a big pot.
i mean... money is fungible. that $15mil went into a big pot.
galvin says the city doesn’t list the revenue stream that funds specific projects. the request being made would require a very different kind of work than they would normally do.
it sounds like we are not going to reach any kind of agreement on this but folks seem ready to move on.
time for some INFORMATION ITEMS
the city has 533 housing choice vouchers authorized.
the county has 538.
both localities have a utilization of about 75%, with 398 vouchers in use in each.
the county has 538.
both localities have a utilization of about 75%, with 398 vouchers in use in each.
heather hill asks how it’s determined how many vouchers each locality is authorized for, since the city & county have such different populations but a similar number of vouchers. the presenter says it’s determined by HUD.
galvin asks about that 75% utilization rate. mike murphy says they’re using 75% of the authorized number of vouchers but 96% of the available funding because of the cost of housing.
oh i see why the city is ready to create this new position NOW. the county already hired someone for an equivalent position.
this slide shows the number or affordable housing units that have been built (2196 in cville, 4200 in albemarle). signer asks “... is this since the beginning of time?” it’s unclear what these numbers mean. is it the number of units ever built? the number currently occupied?
wes voices support for the crossings II project, saying a collaborative effort to build more permanent supportive housing could effectively end homelessness here, citing our relatively low official count of unhoused folks.
ann mallek asks how we’re going to pay for affordable housing without raising taxes on people who already have homes. mayor walker patiently explains the tax relief programs that assist the vulnerable homeowners mallek is using for this concern trolling.
“we can’t just do climate action as an aside,” or “talk about it when there’s a little bit of extra time,” says the presenter (who’s been asked to keep this brief because the meeting is already over time)
county executive jeff richardson wraps up by saying this has been the 4th joint meeting in the last 12 months, that this 135 minutes has had 25 speakers and “a number of topics.” truly a riveting evening we’ve all had.
