Floyd County Political News--1/15/10

The Floyd County Board of Supervisors met on January 12, 2010 at the Floyd County Administration Building. There was significant discussion related to state budget cuts and the impact on localities. These cuts will be the subject of more discussion as the BOS works to craft a new budget.

Carl Ayers, director of Floyd County Department of Social Services, stated that demand for services from his agency (Food Stamps, Medicaid and TANF) was up 25 % in December, 2009 over December, 2008. He listed numerous areas where his agency is facing cuts.

Don Thomas, an appraiser with Wingate and Associates, talked about the conclusion of the appraisal process. All real property in Floyd County is valued at $1.8 billion. An Equalization Board has been named and includes David Peters, Jim Richards, Judy Anderson, Monty Moran and Evelyn Janney. Meetings are scheduled for January 19th, January 22nd and February 1st for the purpose of hearing complaints of inequalities, including, errors in acreage. Meetings will be held at the Floyd County Administration Building and citizens must call (540)745-9354 to make an appointment.

Dr.Terry Arbogast, superintendent of Floyd County Schools, stated that the December 1, 2009 unduplicated, special education child count was 324 (15.52 % of the school population of 2087).
He also gave the BOS preliminary results of Fall SOL scores from Floyd County High School. These scores are excellent and reflect the hard work of all involved.

Other actions or discussions of the BOS follow:
1. On a 3-2 vote approved the Erosion and Sediment Ordinance.
2. Bob Beasley (VDOT) said that lay-off notices were given to many VDOT employees including himself. The Hillsville office will also close on that date and then Floyd County will be part of a district that includes Montgomery and Giles.
3. Maintained the way the Floyd County school budget is proposed, adopted and administered throughout the fiscal year.
4. Set the hearing for the secondary road construction plan for March 9, 2010 at 7:00PM at the county administration building with a snow date of (2/11/10).
5. Approved purchasing software to bill in-house for emergency services, a move that will save the county approximately $14,000 per year.

Floyd County Political News--1/15/10

Congratulations to Willis Elementary on being selected for a Governor's Award for Excellence in Eduation . There were only 14 other schools chosen for this elite award in Virginia.

Floyd County Political News--1/6/10

At an adjourned meeting of the Floyd County Board of Supervisors (1/5/10) the following actions were taken toward reorganization:
(1) David Ingram was re-elected chairman and Fred Gerald is vice-chairman.
(2) Regular board meetings will continue to be held on the 2nd Tuesday of each month beginning at 8:30 AM at the Floyd County Administration Building.
(3) Fred Gerald will continue to represent the BOS on the Floyd-Floyd County Planning Commission and the New River Valley Planning District Comission.
(4) David Ingram will be the legislative contact from the BOS to the Virginia Association of Counties.
(5) Case Clinger was appointed to the Floyd County Social Services Board.
(6) Bill Gardner will be the the BOS liaison to the Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library system.
The regular BOS meeting will be at 8:30 AM on January 12, 2010 at the county administration building.