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In Brief . . .
Bath County Supervisors
¦ Donna Brown, VITA public safety communication analyst, made a brief presentation to Bath supervisors to alert them to some of the concerns they would need to address if the county purchases a "Reverse 911" system. She noted "Reverse 911" is a vendor-specific product, but similar products are available under other names from other vendors. The county would need separate modules for wire line and wireless phones. Wireless (cell) phone uses would have to subscribe to be included in alerts.
¦ County administrator Bonnie Johnson and commissioner of revenue Leta Norfleet encouraged the board to begin searching for citizens willing to serve on the board of equalization. The supervisors agreed to a three-member board with one alternate. They authorized Johnson to advertise for people willing to serve on the board.
¦ Norfleet reported the estimates of revenue the county was expecting to receive from public service corporations for this tax year is $149,000 more than is likely to actually be received. The state has set the ratio corporations will pay at 66.1 percent of assessed value to reflect the increase in property values in the county since the last reassessment. Due to other funding sources, the actual income shortfall will be only $22,500 according to supervisor Richard Byrd.
¦ The board set a public hearing for Nov. 13 at 7:30 for proposed changes to the county solid waste ordinance. The changes include adjustments to the rates for construction debris along with income-based exemptions. Board members expressed concern over the confidential nature of income information and Social Security numbers that might be retained in the building official's office. County attorney Mike Collins will explore the Freedom of Information Act requirements before the hearing.
¦ Johnson said county residents have been paying a state E-911 tax since the first of the year. Since Bath County did not have a similar tax prior to the state tax, none of the collected tax is returned to Bath. The board voted to request the governor and state representatives authorize returning a portion of the tax collected from Bath residents to the county.
¦ Board members, Collins, and Glen Criser of the Warm Springs Sanitation Commission discussed a plan to expand the commission's service area to include parts of the Homestead Preserve development near Warm Springs. County planner Sherry Ryder told the board the house being built on the old farm visible from U.S. 220 north of Warm Springs does not currently have water or sewer though the building permit calls for it to be served by public water and sewer. She said the owners would not be able to obtain a certificate of occupancy until water and sewer is available. Criser said the planned expansion area would include that part of the preserve development. Currently the commission is negotiating with the Preserve to determine the best way to provide the additional capacity that will be necessary to serve the development. Once those negotiations are complete and an agreement signed, the commission will return to the board to request the supervisors petition the circuit court to expand the service area.
¦ In action following closed session, the board voted to authorize Johnson to offer a clerical position and a building and grounds position to the candidates in the order they were ranked by the interview committees. The names of the people hired will be announced as soon as they accept a position. Both positions are existing positions currently vacant.
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