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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-03-08 ACTIONS Board of Supervisors Meeting of March 8, 2000 March 9, 2000 AGENDA ITEM/ACTION ASSIGNMENT 1. Call to order. Meeting was called to Order at 7:05 p.m., by the Chairman. All BOS members present. 4. Others Matters Not Listed on the Agenda from the Public. . There were none. 5.1 Authorize County Executive to execute "Mutual Aid Agreement" County Attornev's Office: Forward copy to between Albemarle County and Rockingham County. appropriate persons after Chairman signs the . APPROVED by 5/1/1 vote agreement. 5.2 Authorize County to participate in Revenue Sharing Program Clerk: Forward letter to VdoT and copy for Fiscal Year 2000/2001. appropriate persons. . APPROVED by 5/1/1 vote 6. Public Hearing on FT 2000/2001 Operating Budget. None. . HELD. 7. Other Matters not Listed on the Agenda from the BOARD. . There were none. 89. Adjourn. . Meeting was adjourned at 9:30 p.m. /ewc COUNTY OF ALBEMARLE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AGENDA TITLE: Mutual Aid Agreement with Rockingham County AGENDA DATE: March 8, 2000 ITEM NUMBER: ACTION: INFORMATION: SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: BOS approval of County Executive authority to execute the "Mutual Aid Agreement" between Albemarle County and Rockingham County. CONSENT AGENDA: ACTION: X INFORMATION: ATTACHMENTS: Mutual Aid Agreement STAFF CONTACT(S): Messrs. Tucker, Foley, Davis, Pumphrey REVIEWED BY: BACKGROUND: Currently Albemarle County does not have written mutual aid agreements for fire and rescue services with its neighboring counties. To assure the terms under which such aid is delivered and to maximize the statutory immunity provided by Virginia Code 33 27-2, 27-4, and 27-23.6, a standard agreement has been prepared and forwarded to each county for review and approval. DISCUSSION: A Mutual Aid Agreement prepared by the Albemarle County Attorney between Albemarle County and Rockingham County has been approved by the Rockingham County Board of Supervisors. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the Board authorize the Chairman to execute the Mutual Aid Agreement on behalf of the County. 00.035 MUTUAL AID AGREEMENT THIS AGREEMENT made this day of , 2000, by and between Albemarle County, a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia, hereinafter referred to as "Albemarle", and Rockingham County, a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia, hereinafter referred to as "Rockingham", WHEREAS, it is deemed to be mutually beneficial to Albemarle and Rockingham to enter into an agreement concerning mutual aid with regard to fire and rescue services; and WHEREAS, the parties desire that the terms and conditions of this Mutual Aid Agreement be established pursuant to SS 27-2, 27-4 and 27-23.6 of the Code of Virginia; NOW THEREFORE WITNESSETH, that for and in consideration of the mutual benefits to be derived by Albemarle and Rockingham from this Agreement, Albemarle and Rockingham hereby covenant and agree each with the other as follows: 1. That Albemarle and Rockingham will endeavor to provide fire suppression, fire prevention, rescue, hazardous materials response, and other related governmental services to the other county within the capabilities available at the time the request for such support is made. Such response may be by county-paid employees or by county volunteer company or department firefighters and rescuers. 2. That nothing contained in this Agreement should in any manner be construed to compel either county to respond to a request for services in the other county when the resources of the county to which the request is being made are needed, or are being used, within the boundaries of its own county, nor shall any such request compel the assisting county to continue to provide services in the other county when its personnel, apparatus or equipment are needed within the boundaries of its own county. 1 3. That each county acknowledges that it is fully capable of providing fire services, rescue services, hazardous material response services, and other related governmental services to adequately serve its respective county. 4. That neither county shall be liable to the other for any loss or damage to property or personal injury or death of personnel resulting from the performance of this Agreement or the failure to respond to any request for services. 5. That each county shall indemnify and save harmless the assisting county from all claims by third parties for property damage or personal injury which may arise out of the activities of the assisting county resulting from the performance of this Agreement. 6. The county requesting assistance shall not be required to reimburse the assisting county for apparatus, equipment or personnel occasioned by a response for assistance, or for damage to such apparatus or equipment, or injuries to personnel incurred when responding in the other county; provided, however, the county requesting assistance under the terms of this Agreement shall pay the responding entity from the other county the actual cost of specialized extinguishing or hazardous material mitigation agents used in rendering assistance pursuant to this Agreement. 7. That the county requesting assistance pursuant to this Agreement shall make such request to the emergency communications center of the assisting county, which will then contact the appropriate county officials to determine its response. 8. That when a county elects to respond to a request for assistance, the personnel making such response shall not become employees of the county requesting assistance for the purposes of the Virginia Workers Compensation Act. 9. That when a county elects to respond to a request for assistance, the personnel manning such responding units shall remain under the command of the senior responding officer, 2 and shall work as a unified company and shall not be split apart during the emergency operations unless ordered by the senior responding officer. 10. That when a county elects to respond to a request for assistance and the senior responding officer determines that the emergency operations are being conducted in an unsafe manner, the assisting county may limit its assistance to a support service or withdraw the assistance to ensure the safety of its personnel. 11. This Agreement may be modified only by the mutual written consent of both counties. 12. This Agreement may be terminated at any time by either county giving thirty (30) days written notice of termination to the other county. IN WITNES S THEREOF, Albemarle's Chairman of the Board of Supervisors and Rockingham's Chairman of the Board of Supervisors execute this Agreement, they being authorized to do so. COUNTY OF ALBEMARLE By Charles S. Martin, Chairman Board of Supervisors COUNTY OF ROCKINGHAM By Pablo Cuevas, Chairman Board of Supervisors APPROVED AS TO FORM: Albemarle County Attorney Rockingham County Attorney 3 COUNTY OF ALBEMARLE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AGENDA TITLE: Revenue Sharing Program AGENDA DATE: March 8, 2000 ITEM NUMBER: ACTION: INFORMATION: SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Request by county to participate in the 2000-2001 VDOT Revenue Sharing Program CONSENT AGENDA: ACTION: X INFORMATION: ATTACHMENTS: Yes STAFF CONTACTCS): Messrs. Tucker, Foley, Cilimberg, Benish, Wade REVIEWED BY: BACKGROUND: VDOT's Revenue Sharing Program provides an opportunity for the County to receive up to an additional $500,000 for road improvements. The program requires a dollar-for-dollar match by the county. The result is a total commitment of up to $1,000,000 toward improvements to the local road system. The County has participated in this program since 1988. The County's match is allocated in its Capital Improvements Plan (CIP). DISCUSSION: The County must formally request participation in the 2000-01 program by March 24, 2000. Attached is draft letter of intent to participate in the program. The funds for FY 2000-01 would be used for improvements to Old Ivy Road from Route 250 to Route 29 Bypass (Attachment A). VDOT and County staff will use the next year to conduct a study of this project's feasibility and be prepared to make a recommendation regarding this project in next year's Six Year Secondary Road Priority Plan update. This project has been delayed due primarily to the complications of dealing with the CSX railroad underpass. If the Board of Supervisors decides to proceed, the revenue sharing funds will be in place to use on this project. If the Board of Supervisors decides not to proceed with the Old Ivy Road improvements, the funds can be transferred to the next eligible project next year. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends the County participate in the Revenue Sharing Program, requesting a total of $500,000 (to be matched with available County CIP funds) for the Old Ivy Road improvement project and authorize the Chairman to sign the attached letter notifying VDOT of our intent to participate in the program. 00.038 David P. Bowerman Rio Lindsay G. Dorrier, Jr. Scoltsville Charlotte Y. Humphris Jack Jouett COUN1YOF ALBEMARLE Office of Board of Supervisors 401 McIntire Road Charlottesville, Virginia 22902-4596 (804) 296-5843 FAX (804) 296-5800 Charles S. Martin Rivanna Walter F. Perkins While Hall Sally H. Thomas Samuel Miller March 10,2000 Mr. James S. Givens State Secondary Engineer Virginia Department of Transportation 1401 East Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219 Dear Mr. Givens: The County of Albemarle, Virginia, indicates by this letter its official intent to participate in the "Revenue Sharing Program" for Fiscal Year 2000-01. The County will provide up to $500,000 for this progtam, to be matched on a dollar-for dollar basis from funds of the State of Virginia. The County has worked with its Resident Engineer and developed the attached eligible project to be undertaken with these funds. The County understands that the program will be reduced on a pro rata basis if requests exceed available funds. Sincerely, ) // ~~ ( lA'c/A-P.L' / f/ p~~ Charles S. Martin Chairman CSIvVec Attachment: Priority Listing of Projects pc: Angela Tucker V. Wayne CUimberg * Printed on recycled paper i t- .' District: Culpeper Rev 19Augll8 Residency: Charlottesville Page ..L of ~ Designation of Funds FY 2000-2001 Revenue Sharing Albemarle County Project # and OPC # County State 6 Year Proj. Funded Project From: Res Enge Admin by Funding Split FHWA Proposed or Route # and Local Match Match Plan wi Rev. Shar. Length Bridge Apprvd Description of VDOT or PE/RW/ 534 Adv. Street Name ($) ($) Priority Only (Y/N) (milkm) To: VPD (Y IN) (YIN) Proposed Work County Constr Codes Date 0601-002-237,C50 I 500,000 500,000 12 N 0.71 Route 250 4358 Y Y Widen to 4 Lanes VDOT 02-05 Old Ivy Road Rte. 29 Bypass OPC #8807 "' Tolal $500,000 $ 500,000 PLEASE SIGN BELOW IF YOU WISH TO SPEAK ON Public Hearing on the County Executive's Recommended Operating Budget for FY 2000/01 re.> -h \f. \ o~ -t-'ht.&il~ c,~t ~.llf' 1 '\)eN 4 \ ('l..Q n- / PLEASE SIGN BELOW IF YOU WISH TO SPEAK ON Public Hearing on the County Executive's Recommended Operating Budget for FY 2000/01 Lf(!:hf'r~~/!1 ~. (!optZ.{a4td 7- 8 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 1 a i1 ,/ d... .2: PLEASE SIGN BELOW IF YOU WISH TO SPEAK ON Public Hearing on the County Executive's Recommended Operating Budget for FY 2000/01 -1~~ ~...v ~1>. \ o~ ~~;;. j~"';). 1~~$ q~owJA. ~(l J... S~Q\tsvltlL VA 3D 3a 3 J 34 j.2 ~3.3 J6 31t ')lJ 3 S 38ay 31637 ~3g 4-1 3'1 42' t(o ~ If; \, ,.// ~ce r'ver.( 3/~Zb9V Strategic Directions for FY 2000/01 """"~~~"~I ' ~"~~J2$i,"'~>0\'i~ .-''' - -;'_"'~-_~^'-_'_ ',,_.,J _"" T. " ' -~, 'lIur _.- A Closer Look at Albemarle County's FY 2000/01 Operating Budget Agenda Who We Are How We've Grown A Closer Look at the County Budget Understanding What Drives the County's Budget How You Can Get Involved 1 Who We Are '>0:f;;,;ii;gt;;:;a~~~4Jit~~!I!!:~~_! , -' """-'im nfiITi "~ I 740 Square Miles I 81/600 Residents Growing at 20/ojYear Urban, Suburban and Rural Neighborhoods How We've Grown 1987 1999 +/- . Population 61,502 81,600 33% . Police Calls for Service 19,202 40,555 111% . Children in Organized 6,100 10,000 64% Sports . Number of Schools 17 24 41% . Number of School 8,927 12,205 37% Students . Children in Foster Care 32 130 300% . Debt Service $1.9 mill $9 mill 347% 2 A Closer Look at FY 2000/01 Revenues E4r;jlij;S!!-f<<~,j';i~;_)t:;Llr_ ,. n.mL~ < ,_.- -r""wlW f", FY 2000/01 Total County Revenues $158,497,358 Million Other Local 22% State 24% Federal 3% Self- Sustaining 5% Carry- Over/Fund Balance 1% Property Tax 45% A Closer Look at FY 2000/01 Expenditures FY 2000/01 Total County Expenditures $158,497,358 Million School Ops. 56% Self- Sustaining 5% Gen. Govt. 27% Debt Service 6% Capital 2% Revenue Sharing 4% 3 What is Driving the County's Budget? M_f1lP:&~~~lIIL . ]1!.lfU_ll'l~ ,", >,.,>,,~ I Population & Enrollment Growth I Mandated & Required Increases I Pu bl ic Safety Urban Infrastructure/Resource Protection Market Conditions Population & Enrollment Growth ~ . '-~"':':"':''''- ;-::"':">: 203 New Students 12.28 New Teachers; 3.5 Special Education Teachers Textbooks, Mobile Classrooms Capital Needs $8.9 Million - School Debt Service - a $400,000 Inc. $750,000 - General Govt. Debt Service - a $439,312 Inc. $2.4 Million - Pay-as-You-Go Capital Projects - a $239,070 Inc. 4 Mandated & Requi.red Cost Increases '""i\lf@ll._Jr~_!I~,.~i:3 ,1, ..118' r .' ..-q'-l~ r J!~~ I Mandated Increases I ,Comprehensive Services Act I Special Education I Required Increases, Including: m Social Service Programs (Caseload) Tourism Transfer Revenue Sharing $250,000 $179,944 $413,470 $155,280 $239,307 Public Safety Needs Jail Operating Increase (Required) ECC Operations - New Building & CAD (Required) 8 Firefighters for New Southern Station (Required) Fire Prevention Inspector Police Crime Analyst 5 Urban Infrastructure & Resource Protection '~i!li.~1I#~.'.' ..... _ii...ilJli1........!lIlli. ilw ~'>><?jOi,..,,,,,,4r.;,,%_.,. -.' "'. _^._,..u.,<<P '.,,,' '." ,'.,." """':,'c.,:,, ,.,' .' l'T'n ~rr ~ I 2 Planners - Design & Development Review I Engineering Inspector/Plan Reviewer for Water Resources I Acquisition of Conservation Easements (ACE) Program Market Conditions Competitive Compensation - Retaining & Attracting Skilled Employees Consultant Findings: Classified - Below Market 8-12% Teachers - Below Market 5.70/0 FYOl Budget Funds: 4.25% Teacher Scale Adjustment 40/0 Classified Pay-far-Performance Pool 2% Salary Adjustment Pool 6 Getting Involved in the Budget Process ,<&0)1l~~~.IU I ",d ,- .1m .J1V;~ I Public Hearing on County Executive's Recommended Budget I Board Work Sessions Public Hearing on Proposed Budget Operating & Capital Budgets Adopted, Tax Levy Set I Mar 8 (Public Comment) I Mar 13, 15, 20 & 22 AprilS (Public Comment) April 12 Public Comment 7 .~ 7;ce1 \-<*:e{ o/o/U$2> of Comments from Brian Wheeler to. Albemarle County Board of Supervisors on 2000-2001 Budget March 8, 2000 My name is Brian Wheeler. I am the parent of a second grader at Murray Elementary. I am like a lot of parents you are going to hear from tonight. I am frustrated that this County has not better supported our children. When it came time for our children to enter school, my wife and I assumed the public schools here in the neighborhoods of the University and Thomas Jefferson, would be as great as their surroundings. What I found in September was that my 7 year old was going to have a class of 27 . students and that the rigid staffing and budget formulas meant no relief was in sight, not just this year, but likely every year she would be attending Murray. Thus I've spent the past 5 months educating myself and others about this budget process. I've learned there is a history of class size problems and scarcity of resources in our elementary schools. I've learned the SOLs are forcing our administrators to focus on making sure ALL students meet aminimum standard at the expense of those students who might be able toset new standards, if they had the resources. I agree with the School Board's funding request and believe you should support it in full. It does not go as far as it should in many areas, but it is a big step in the right direction. Some speakers tonight will be skeptical about the Slabaugh report I say "Open your eyes." Look at the job market around us. Anyone who reads the paper knows of the challenges we are going to face in recruiting, retention and retirement. As the Chief Information Officer at SNL Securities on the Downtown Mall, I have first-hand experience with the tight labor market and the challenge of trying to convince UV a students to stay in Charlottesville to start their careers. Others speakers may tell you our teachers arealready making a lot more than they realize, when you add in benefits, summer vacations and the like, and that we just need to market our jobs better. I say "Listen to our teachers." The teachers know how little they make compared to other college-educated professionals. They can compare base salary rates in this County with other localities and what they see is the harsh reality that we are lagging behind. Still others may complain that the School Board's "unbalanced" request was a shameful action. I say "Look at our children." In the face of serious problems that require millions more in revenue, the School Board would have been reckless had they not submitted to you a needs-based budget. At the February public hearing one citizen suggested the School Board pursue all of us who were willing to pay more in taxes to support the schools. I don't think that observer was willing to pay more in taxes, but I presented Chairman Charlie Ward with a check for $75.00 that night. ~ Tonight I must admit to the Board of Supervisors, "I made a mistake." That check was not big enough! We need mbre than $75 a year from a family like mine to pay for better schools, but by my calculations, not much more. A 5 cent tax increase would cost the average homeowner only $88 a year and would contribute almost $2 million dollars to the school system. Mr. Chairman here is the balance I owe on my share of a tax increase, a check in the amount of $32 dollars and 10 cents. I urge you to support the School's budget request and to raise our taxes back to their 1987 levels to pay for it. Brian Wheeler (bwheeler@albemarlematters.com) is a second grade parent at Virginia L. Murray Elementary School. He is the editor of SchoolMatters, an independent Internet e-mail newsletter which is not affiliated with any organization, PTO or the school system and is working to keep Albemarle County parents and staff infonned about happenings in the community, at the school board, and in the school system that impact our children. For more infonnation see: http://www.albemarlematters.com .' . i ~<-e('ke{ :Yr~ Good evening, my name is Tim Frazier, I am principal at one of Albemarle County's elementary schools, Virginia L. Murray. I am here tonight to speak to you as a principal and as a representative of the county's Building Level Administrators Association. The Albemarle County School Board has presented you with its 2000-2001 school budget. During the last few years, each budget cycle has been over shadowed by growth. Again this next year the school system is projecting 200+ additional students. Growth has always been a priority in the budget process. Each year efforts have been made, and changes have been accomplished that have allowed for funds to be moved from one area to another in trying to keep the increases in the county school's budget to a minimum. In the past few years we have restructured the schools' operating schedules, developed differentiated staffing formulas, reduced the number of building improvements and level funded our schools, all as ways of saving money. Belts have been tightened and other sources of funding have been found. Schools have grown dependent on PTOs and booster clubs to provide funding for things such as library books, plants and shrubs, cafeteria tables, computers, sports uniforms, travel costs for trips, and many more things that used to come out of county funds. Schools have made do with older technology, furniture, copy machines, and A V equipment to try to be able to fund instructional programs. The rising cost of materials have cut directly into our limited school budgets (which have risen just 2% in the last five years). Classroom materials for the seven period day and many of the special materials needed for preparing students for SOL testing have come from those same fixed budgets. In fact many schools are paying for small capital improvements with these fixed budgets, things like carpet, and bathroom tiles. To face the cost of growth in the past, we believe the board maximized the amount of funds that could be reallocated in order to try and offset those costs. Today, there is no place to go. We know the availability of teacher applicants is not what it was even five years ago. Finding and attracting strong teachers is becoming increasingly difficult. With the shortage of teachers now hitting this country, teachers whether experienced or brand new, are becoming hot commodities. A recent article in the Washington Post was very disheartening. This article quoted Education Week showing that teachers who. graduated in 1993 and had left the teaching field by 1997 were twice as likely to have scored in the top 25% nationally on the SATs or ACTs then those who were still teaching. This -. apparent loss of our best and brightest teachers has impacted students everywhere. Strong teachers have the greatest impact on student learning. Comparatively low salaries were listed as one of the main reasons for their departure. The Charlottesville area has one of the highest costs of living in the state. Recent information on our teacher salary scale shows that we do not compare very favorably with other localities, even some of those that are bordering Albemarle County. This year, our beginning teacher salary ranks 70th out of 132 systems in the state, the veteran teacher's salaries, those at the top of the scale rank 57th. These are factors that make it more difficult to attract teachers to the County schools. As a building administrator looking at SOL's and accreditation standards, I want the strongest teachers I can get in the classroom. Teachers will have one of the biggest impacts on how our students do on SOL tests. We are now losing veteran teachers. One of their major concerns is trying to raise a family on a teacher's salary. Many teachers are taking second jobs; just to remain in a profession they love and are good at. As we look at the employees' salaries in the Albemarle County Schools, we need to also be aware of salary issues facing our classified employees. The major discrepancies between classified employees' salaries and where they should be based on market value makes it. harder and harder to recruit and retain classified employees. With an unemployment rate of 1.4% in the Charlottesville area, we do not have the number of applicants, qualified or not, that we had 5 years ago. With a smaller pool of applicants to choose from, salary ranges that are below the market value and with people having more choices for employment, finding qualified people has become difficult and many times impossible. In addition, the school system now is trying to keep from losing classified employees to private sector jobs, which can offer higher salaries. The lack of qualified applicants and not being able to retain classified employees does affect the smooth operation of our schools. The School Board has shared with you examples of the progress we have made and the quality of this school system. Our teaching staff and support personnel have done a very good job with the students in Albemarle County. We want to continue to improve the education students receive in this county - to get better and better. Our success greatly depends on the commitment that Albemarle County continues to put into our schools with their buildings, materials, personnel and most important of all -- our children. It is hard to set priorities for this important commitment of taxpayers funds. Our school board has done well to focus on improving salaries to attract and keep our best and brightest. Another priority of our school board is to increase literacy at all grade levels. Schools are implementing effective literacy programs and strategies (Word Study, Language!, Book Buddies, Math Counts) to meet increasingly higher academic standards. Many of these efforts have been funded through the schools' budgets and staffed through the schools' current staffing allocations. Our school board is well aware of the additional needs schools have in order to staff and purchase materials directly related to improving literacy. You will see these needs as a top priority for funding - funding staff as well as materials. Funding the staffing formulas, including the staff needed for growth and ~ literacy will give our school board the resources they need to meet the important goals we have set for our students. As you can tell, salaries and staffing are the budget priorities for building level administrators in Albemarle County. Unfortunately, fully funding the salary proposals and staffing will not totally resolve the struggles we have everyday in helping our children realize their potential in our complex society - there are no easy answers for this struggle. Our school board has given you their best thinking on how to provide the best education possible for our county's children with their 2000-2001 school budget. They want to !.ll provide competitive salaries; they want to provide staffing for growth and literacy. They want to do the right thing at this time and place for our future. My colleagues and I support the full funding of this budget. Now it is your turn to do the right thing! Thank you for your time and consideration on this important process. ~(!e/l--e ~ o/'1et!1JiJ March 8, 2000 To: The Board of Supervisors and Mr. Tucker The annual board budget slashing session is back in full force, I see, and I have to ask"why"? What is the purpose of holding back on the needs of the people of Albemarle County? The newest report from Mr. Tucker and the Board of Supervisors brings to mind the story of Hetty Green, the infamous "Witch of Wall Streef', who, a century ago, having made a fortune on the stock market, was the wealthiest woman in the world - and yet she prided herself so much in her frugality, that when her own son, Ned, broke his leg, she was too cheap to have it fixed properly. Ned developed gangrene and had to have the leg amputated. Surrounded by wealth, Hetty Green chose cheap. Surrounded by wealth, you choose cheap. Who benefits from cheap? Who asked you for cheap? Are we striving for mediocrity around here? Cheap does not equal good. Two bits. A quarter. Two bits gets us everything. If we raise property taxes two bits, twenty - five cents per hundred dollars/ it puts us in line with comparable counties, and it gets us all that we need - the literacy program, the strings, foreign language, the courthouse - and you take care of the workers and the children of Albemarle County. Twenty- five cents - and you can have enough in the coffers to plan and to protect Albemarle from becoming another Northern Virginia. Enough to be visionaries for excellence rather than being trapped in this silly squabbling to shave more, shave more. Two bits. It would cost the average household just over a dollar a day. We get the whole works and we can stop this annual penny ante game. Whoever asked you to be so cheap? Whoever told you that cheap is good? We would not be here if we were looking for bargain basement living. I ask you to show some spine, and raise the revenues that are in your power to raise,- and do what needs to be done' th's county. Before the gangrene sets in. Marjorie ShePher~i~ ^ r It Free Union, Virgijv 1.f"1 ~ ~~ p,?(~ ZfllJ , ~~ I come before you this evening to address the "Merit Pay" ' , ~ plan now used by the county as the measuring tool for raises for its classified personnel. .-'" As you are aware, the 96/97 school year saw the demise of the step pay scale for classified employees. What remained was "MERIT" pay. .. As the largest group ~f employees in the county - we ar~ the" ''':. . . . least appreciated if salary is the scale on which WOR1H is .' -1"0 measured. We consider it an affront to our intelligence that you continue to use a process that was designed as an individual "BONUS" and is now our only pay raise. Consultants have been employed on several occasions to rectify these inequalities, but funds are never available to initiate their recommendations. Then why continue in this vein? The money paid for these consultants could have been used toward salary increases. The pay scale is set-up for '12 month - 8 hour a day employees. There is no TA, cafeteria worker, bus driver, or 10 month secretary who works the scale as stated. Of course its easier to have one scale, but does it make sense!! , When you look at the salary of any of these 182 day employees do you take this difference of 760 plus hours into consideration? ~ / There is no question that classified personnel make the life of every teacher achievable. We bring their students safely to school, supervise them before school starts, after it ends,. as they eat breakfast, lunch and walk down the hallways to class. We teach and tutor them, give one on one instruction, help with class work and undone homework. We cook the meals and snacks they eat, wash the dishes, clean the classrooms and restrooms. We take over classes at a moments notice, do the bookkeeping and maintain . 'Student records. We make.~ll;re that buses, computers, copiers; video, TVs, air and heating units are in top working order. We cut grass, trini trees, keep sidewalks free of snow. We change diapers, wipe noses, dry tears, administer meds, take temperatures, clean up after spills and accidents when students become ill, give hugs and words of praise. We take them home with us so they don't miss a field trip, give baths, shampoo hair, and yes at times we even feed and clothe them. This is just a few of the duties performed by classified personnel. #F , As you can see tonight, a lot of us are absent, not because we don't care or look for others to carry the load, but because we supplement our county salaries by working second jobs. I am also in that category, but chose to lose $50.00 tonight in order to attend this meeting because I have only realized a net gain of about a $1.00 per day increase in salary over the past 16 years. We deserve a pay scale that at the very least has a step progression. Where we ~ow at the end of each year about 'wha~.# ~ ,. ~ . . '. . will earn the following year. Merit as it is used now means NOTHING!! "GOOD EMPLOYEE SERVICE" does. We will continue to lose some of our finest employees to other arenas until you adopt and maintain a pay system that truly rewards your employees. , , Thank you for your time this evening and I hope you act on the words being spoken here tonight. Thank you!! Edith N. Peoples TA Stone-Robinson School ~ ~ .~. 0 fJq:;/- kt Good evening, "I am a Teaching Assistant in K/1. I have been employed in the Albemarle County Public School System for over 10 years. I am here tonight to give you a clearer picture of how the merit pay has affected my hourly wage and many others like me. I work 5 3/4 hours a day. 5 hours are with the k/1 class and 3/4 of an hour is doing cafeteria duty. I also work 182 days a year, which makes me a 10-month part time employee. If you were to look on the pay scale you would not be able to find my salary. Only 1 2 month and 8 hour a day employees are listed. a~~D r'd; /)3 fo In)/ Albemar!fJ efy 6n;J/o!Jeel!fJ/;o/J ,lklAor/z4/1io7 ~Sih(~ ~ my pay grade step has been the same.5 il'ttts lat 5 A and has not moved up at all in 4 years. From 1996-97 I received a 33 cent increase in pay per hour, in 98 I received a 32 cent increase in pay, and in 99 I received a 31 cent increase in pay. That totals to 96 cents over a 4 year period. If it weren't for the merit pay, there would be no increase in pay. I, among many others received 1 00% on my evaluations each year. We all are dedicated to our jobs and want to see that the children succeed. Most of us do go above and beyond our job descriptions to help make this happen. With the SOL's this year we have seen a greater demand on the te~hers~ which reflect on all of us as well. c.;::; :t- /t.te:freLd& fe~Ns elf 5-f? dem.s~dt21 Therefore with a 1 00% evaluation I would think that I would see an increase in pay greater than what I am receiving and a raise in my pay scale step. Where is the fairness in this pay scale system and merit pay? The merit pay was designed to reward a lo.b weLl done. We use to get a pay raise and a ~onus check, which was the merit pay for a great evaluation. PLEASE, can't we go back to getting ~ rai se s? k ~ ~. t/J6U'- V!-~b/,. ~ d4~ I~ff~ eu:- ~~ e c:;~. W()/'Je' wd~tU~ ~~ ~lU~X~ ~ Qoi .~ March 8,2000 Good evening, my name is Kathy Verel!. I'm the parent of three school age children and I teach at Henley Middle School. You will hear many pleas tonight regarding full funding of the budget presented to you by the School Board. You will also hear many remarks questioning whether or not the schools really need an increase of 6 million dollars. I'm here to tell you the bigger controversy is whether or not this County can continue to sustain quality education without funding growth. One million dollars alone in this year's budget is directly related to growth. Imagine how that adds up when you consider the past decade. What reasonable, logical person wouldn't agree that a quality school system should have a Class Size Emergency Relief Fund or should offer competitive wages to its employees? And who among us, in aiming for a quality school system, would suggest, "Oh, let's stop funding initiatives that we've funded in the past." Is there a rational person here who doesn't agree that a quality school system would provide funding necessary to support literacy initiatives mandated by the state? And you only need compassion, not logic, to realize that a quality school system would pay substitute teachers more than $52 a day! So, the question is, "00 we want a quality school system?" The enlightened minds among~would allow that a community pays for its services with tax revenue. If we are to support quality education, you must take the leadership given to you and recommend a tax increase. Increasing the tax rate by $.05 would generate almost two million dollars and take the County back to the rates of the middle 1980's. Do you want a quality school system? Katherine Verell, M.Ed. 150 Langford Place Charlottesville, Va. 22903 " Albemarle County Board of Supervisors Budget Public Hearing March 8, 2000 Good evening Board and community members. My name is Marla Muntner, I teach 4th grade at Stone-Robinson Elementary School, and I am proud to speak to you on behalf of school employees as president of the Albemarle Education Association. We are asking for your support of the School Board's request for funds for a number of compelling reasons: growth, the upcoming retirement of our experienced teaching force, the hiring of their replacements, the changing needs of schools and school children, and our changing expectations for them, to name just a few. Things are changing in our school system. The days are gone when Albemarle County had stacks of applications filling cabinets and overflowing onto chairs and floors in the Human Resources Department. And, the days are gone when students needed only the three Rs to succeed as adults. Our world, and our community, are changing. Today, the three Rs are simply not enough. Our students must meet the SOL requirements, they must be proficient in technology, and they must excel at team work in order to succeed. Today, we know that the 2 most important factors affecting student success are ,~ class sizes and quality educators. Yet, today, there are only 3 or 4 applicants per expected teaching opening here, and some subject areas have no qualified applicants available at all. Today, we are not only competing with surrounding districts or even Virginia districts for teachers. Today, due at least partly to increased opportunities for women in the work place, we are competing with other professions as well. As a result, finally, our community and our nation must wake up to the fact that we must pay the men and women who teach a wage that reflects the importance and difficulty of their work. And, today, here in Central Virginia, other districts are leading the way in response to these changes, with even rural Fluvanna County proposing 9 to 12% pay increases for teachers. To help us better understand where we are amidst these changes, let's look at something else that has changed. The Virginia Department of Education ranks school districts according to their ability to pay for schools and their effort toward schools. This chart shows in black the increase in our rank in ability to pay from 1990 to 1996. Below it the dotted line shows our decreasing effort toward schools over the same time period. In red, you can see the changes from 1996 to 1998. Our rank in effort toward schools is dropping fast, and it is no where near our ability to pay. Our world is changing, but through these changes in our culture and in our community, one thing has remained constant: The education of children is crucial to the success of every group of people. Fund the School Boards request so our schools and our children can continue to succeed. Thank you. COUNTY f)I BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING MARCH 8, 2000 My name is Laura Laffond and I am the parent of 3 children who attend Albemarle Public Schools. When my husband and I moved here 3 years ago, we chose to put our children in the public schools because of their excellent reputation. I am requesting that the Board of Supervisors fully fund the School Board's budget request. High caliber teachers cannot be recruited on the meager starting salaries presently offered when there are so many other communities willing to pay them what they deserve. As a parent, I want to see the County Schools recruit their first choice candidates. I also want to retain the good teachers who are currently in the system with adequate compensation. I cannot see how teachers working in our school system can afford to live in the same county they work for. We expect our teachers to be everything to our children during the school day: social worker, healthcare provider, disciplinarian, counselor, and of course, teacher. We expect our teachers to be held accountable for the academic achievement of our children. We want the best SOL scores and the best college opportunities, but we don't have to ability to recruit and retain the best teachers. In addition to the increased salaries, I support the funding ofthe requested multi-year initiatives and additional Class Size Emergency Relief teachers. I believe that the County should be responsible for the $1 million required to address growth needs in the school system over the next year. The School Board should not be expected to fund adjustment for growth as the result of additional housing in Albemarle County. I am willing to have my taxes reasonably increased to pay for an excellent school system and other support services in the County. I also support the requirement of developers to pay additional fees to help cover the cost of growth. Thank you for your consideration. Laura Laffond 3580 Loftlands Drive Earlysville. VA 22936 PRESENTATION TO BOARD OF SUPERVISORS 3/8/00 By: Bonnie M. Drumm, Tel and FAX 804-978-1117, bdrumm@cfw.com, Albemarle Co. This meeting concerns the budget, school funding, and tax generation to pay for needs. a. School funding is of the primary importance becauce it is the largest item in the county budget and because the amount of money designated to the school board does not balance with what the school board is asking for. b. I am speaking as a tax paying widow, without survivor benefits, owning and operating a farm in the north part of the county, which costs much more for fertilizer, insurance, taxes (even reduced farm tax) than the hay and forest products bring in. In spite of these losses I am willing to have my taxes increased a bit to pay the proper salaries for the teachers we need and other costs IF the school board and administration are using all the money-saving devices possible in the operation of the schools to provide for superior education of ALL of Albemarle's children. EXAMPLES: 1. Is there a core curriculum and do all schools follow it? If a child changes schools can we be assured that the student has covered the lessons in the old school that will be used in the new school? 2. Do all the schools practice EARLY INTERVENTION? By that I mean if a child shows a deficit in intellectual achievement ego in reading does that child get extra help to meet the level of accomplishment expected? If deficits are not corrected very early the gap will widen and that child may never catch up and is a possible dropout later. 3. What are the schools doing to narrow the gap in academic achievement between the haves and have nots, the poor and rich, the black and white, the inner city and the suburbs? 4. Do the schools utilize all the free help they can possibly use? Retired, college educated volunteers are out there willing to help teach the little tots reading and number recognition they didn't get at home. They are waiting to be asked and a teaching certificate is not necessary to help - one on one. 5. Are the schools doing enough or anything to assure that ALL children come to school "Ready To Learn" as has been mandated? Home environment has a wide gap. I have passed out a condensation of the summary chapter "Schools We Need and Why We don't Have Them". It is something that deserves careful attention. Taxpayers will accept proper funding of schools if they are sure they are getting value for their money. 1.> CONDENSATION of CHAPTER 7, SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION The Schools We Need. and Why We Don't Have Them by E. D. Hirsch Read the book for more details, bibliographical references, and notes. 1. Practical Effectiveness. Not Ideology The direct origin of our dominant (and ineffectual) educational orientation was the progressive movement of the 1920s that emanated from Teachers College, Columbia University. That progressive movement, within the tradition of American Romaticism,..is the source of many assumptions about childhood and human nature that still pervade our minds and hearts. ..they need to be modified. The main issue is practical. The complaint against educational Romanticism is that it fails to conform to educational reality....ineffectual in practice. It has not worked in American public schools. It is the least effective approach studied. We simply cannot afford more decades of "child- centered" credulity, [such as] natural, integrated project-learning over focused instruction leading to well-practiced operational skills in reading and mathematics, and well-stocked minds conversant with individuat subject matters like history and biology. We need to reject....that teaching the child is more important than teaching the subject. 2. Two Historic Errors: Formalism and Naturalism Formalism considers the main goal of education to consist of giving students formal intellectual tools like "learning to learn"..."critical thinking skills" rather than in transmitting knowledge. Naturalism, the belief that education is a natural process and most effective when it is connected with natural, real-life goals and settings. Both are half truths...the error...emphasis on process and skills rather than on content does not in fact result in...improved formal skills for thestudents...People need ability to read, write, communicate, to grasp and manipulate mathematical symbols, etc. Literacy is not a natural learning analogous to oral language acquisition...A non-naturalistic approach, including direct instruction in letter-sound correspondences, is the most effective approach to the teaching of reading. 3. Key Findings of Research Young children exhibit an eagerness to learn..born with a "language instinct". Play helps develop basic cognitive activities into more... complex cognitions...These learnings can be called "natural" because they are transcultural and universal. Beyond these primary learnings are secondary learnings...such as reading, writing, the base- ten system of counting, multicolumn addition and subtraction, carrying and borrowing, multiplication and division. These learnings are NOT AUTOMATIC and do not develop unless taught...and are dependent on PRIOR RELEVANT LEARNING. It takes repeated practice to forge new neural paths in our brains and involves effort,.... though it need not be unpleasant. Children need to learn a lot of factual knowledge ...in order to make knowledge... The cumulative character of learning, the educational conditions of early life exercise a very powerful influence on later competencies...and small early deficits become large deficiencies in later life, ..as advantages ..grow into large ones later. The cumulative effects of intellectual capital...derive from...posessing relevant background to -page 2- knowledge. The basic principles of learning:..the distinction between primary and secondary learnings, the importance of early beginnings, the need for effort and practice, ...and the cumulative nature of learning,...These fundamental principles cannot be circumvented. 4. Policy implications Nations, like France, have recognized that unless an early knowledge deficit is quickly overcome, the deficit grows ever larger. Our failure to exploit and compensate for this cumulative principle accounts for the growing achievement gap between our students and those in other lands, ..and between social classes that widens at each succesive grade level in American schools....Most desperately needed policy reforms.. the principle that early deficits or advantages in intellectual capital build to insuperable gaps after just a few years of schooling. ..Educational policy has to be developed coherently over the whole range of a child's schooling from preschool on, and with particular concern for the very early years where small efforts and effects yield very large consequences later on...The education summit of 1989..number one principle was that all first graders should enter school "ready to learn"...The goal - a massive effort to create truly effective preschool programs...- means sharing...knowledge, vocabulary, and skills with other members of the first grade community...Logical consistency requires that we extend the readiness-to-Iearn (RTL) principle to 2nd, 3rd, 4th graders and so on. The background knowledge, vocabulary, and skills..are unequally provided by the child's home environment....and it is the duty of schools to compensate with the knowledge and skills requisite for academic progress. The RTL principle must be an annual one, requiring some degree of yearly monitoringg and compensatory learning for those who are below the readiness plateau for the next grade. Deficits should be remedied in earlier grades. The best classrooms briing all students along at a slow but sure rate...providing compensatory instruction as needed and giving talented and eager students challenging extra work to do. 5. The Common School and The Common Good Every nation that achieves readiness for all children in the early grades, France, Hungary, Norway, Japan, Sweeden, Denmark- does so by following grade by grade standards...A core curriculum appears to be the only practical means to achieve the readiness at each grade level. The Netherlands is a non-core-curriculum nation in Northern Europe and exhibits the lowest degree of intellectual fairness in that region... with 16% of the schools falling below the minimum competency as contrasted to Europe's core schools 2.5%, and the US 30%. ...The high mobility rate of our children, especially of those who can least afford educational disruption, makes common learning more needed in the US than in most other nations. Our diversity, size, and nomadism are auguments for common grade by grade standards...which common learnings are necessary to a functioning democracy.... The common school proposed by Jefferson had the goal of giving all children the shared intellectual and social ., .. page 3 capital..enabling them to participate in the economy and policy of the nation. When Jefferson said that if he had to choose between newspapers and government, he would choose newspapers, premised on each citizen's being able to read and understand.. If the citizenry cannot read they cannot participate effectively in a modern economy, without sharing the common intellectual capital necessary to communicate. The principle that children should enter a new grade already sharing the background knowledge required to understand the teacher and each other enables the functioning of an entire community or nation. It is the duty of the nation's educational system to create this domain of public communicability which is essential at every age...and most emphatically in the early grades, when deficits can be made up. It cannot do so without the common school. Jefferson and others...had in mind thaLthe common school was not just for knowledge, literacy, and equality of opportunity but also the agent of a cosmopolitan culture that would promote universal respect and civility...As far as specific content is concerned, the local curriculum, with few exceptions does not exist. One cannoL.endorse something that does not exist, though one can demand that it come into existence. ...Schools need to have a coherent, cummulative core curriculum which instills consensus values such as civic duty, honesty, diligence, perseverence, respect, kindness, and independent-mindedness...and mastery of procedural knowledge in language arts and mathematics, and content knowledge in civics, science, the arts, and the humanities;...and holds students, teachers, schools, and parents accountable for acceptable progress in achieving these specific year-by-year goals..Emphasis on content requires restructuring of ideas (which are slow to change). And so school-by-school effort has been pursued, which is slow but can be taken NOW, without delay. No large scale policy change...can be accomplished...until there is a change of mind by the general public. (N.B. from B. D. Public acceptance aspect is being pursued) ...Improving the effectiveness and fairness of education through enhancing both its content and its commonality has more than educational significance. Diminishing the economic inequities would be important to our national well being... Important also is the decline in civility in public life and intensified interethnic hostilities...Bringing our children to universal competence is important, but also strengthening of universal communicability and a sense of community would be a significant contribution of the common school,... its most important contribution to preserving the fragile fabric of our democracy. N.S. The unabridged chapter 7 may be found on page 115 of "The Schools We Need and Why We Don't Have Them" by E. D. Hirsch, a donated copy of which is in the Albemarle school board library. Bonnie M. Drumm, Albemarle County !1eceu"v6{ 3( f'UJM March 8, 2000 To the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors: In January of this year the County Engineering Department submitted a proposal for a multi-year program to develop detailed knowledge of groundwater. resources throughout the County in support of strategies outlined in Chapter 2 of the Comprehensive Plan. The proposed program is to be funded at the level of $65,000 per year over 6 years. "fhis program was not inoluded in the COullly sxecutivo'o proposed budget ror F'Y 2000-2001. Ensuring the adequacy and quality of the County's water supply is integral to protecting public health and quality of life. This is arguably a principal responsibility of local government. Technical information is critical to developing informed public policy on water. In the current fiscal year, we began the process of assembling basic water well data into the County's GIS. This has been a necessary first step, but it is essential that we continue the process in order to develop the groundwater knowledge that is so desperately lacking. I urge you to fund the proposed groundwater program. Nick H Evans PhD PG Director, Thomas Jefferson Soil & Water Conservation District 4609 Burnley Station Road Barboursville, VA 22923 Objectives of the ProDosed Study . Characterize groundwater flow within each of seven study areas that are representative and inclusive of the hydrogeologic regimes that occur within Albemarle County. . Identify recharge areas and groundwater flow paths. . Provide an understanding of groundwater availability and vulnerability to contamination by septic fields and other pollution sources. . Establish a network of long-term observation wells to monitor groundwater levels in critical areas as land uses change. Prescribe a long-term monitoring program. . Provide land use and policy recommendations for (1) protecting recharge areas, (2) preserving high-yteld sites for possible water supply development, and (3) desired water system configurations and management structures, and (4) contingency plans for areas with significant dependency on groundwater as a water supply (e.g. population and density). Mar-09-00 12:02P PPD * pee ~ 804-973-5100 P.02 Good Evening, my name is Christopher Lee and I live in the Scottsville District of Albemarle Co. I speak to you as a representative from the Chamber of Commerce who has followed the COUhty budget for three years. We do track the budget throughout the year and are most appreciative of Frank Morgan and Jackson Zimmerman from the School Division who met with our budget Subcommittee last August to review this year's budget. We also thank Ann Gulati and Lee Catlin who have kept us informed of developments in the budget since last fall. We have noted that the total county budget is increased 8.20/0 this year. o 10.0% increase in general government o 7.2010 increase in school division This increase in the total county budget is more than enough to fund the budget priorities and the "cost of growth" adjusted for inflation. Albemarle's population growth has been 2.20/0 over the last five years and school population growth has been 2.30/0 over the last five years. In the same time period the amount of the budget increases has been / approximately 7%. The budget increase is more than enough to offset the "cost of growth" and a tax increase is not justified. Anticipated 7.0% increase in county real estate assessments for 2001 will improve county finances alleviating the need to increase the tax rate in future budgets. While we deplore the School Board's recommendation of an unbalanced budget, the School Superintendent's budget does a good job of identifying budget priorities. We support initiatives that improve the education of our workforce and the lives of our employees. Chamber supports the following priorities o Schools: decent teacher salaries, career awareness specialist, CATEC, and extended learning inthe public schools o School construction is underfunded as Elementary schools are over their capacity by 508 students in '99; this over utilization grows to 735 in '02 when the Northern Elem is due to open; and 846 students in 104 o Funding through grants: Literacy Professional Development is identified as a program that could receive grant funding. ESL also could receive grant funding. This is an excellent way to fund special programs through private funding. Ma~-09-00 12:02P PPD * PCC * 804-973-5100 P.03 o Public Transportation is important. We support bus service up, 29N and expanded .service along Bus Route 5. We hope that you wi\! try to fu nd these items as you did last year to Pantops., o New sources of revenue: Leasing of Monticello High School this summer is an intelligent use of county resources to increase revenue. o The Chamber will be reviewing the budget in several areas to make specific recommendations to you of where we might realize savings to pay for these priorities. I o Community Development: This budget increased by over 20% last year and 100/0 this year. We encourage the use of citizen committees to find better ways to manage development. I believe that we can find solutions to promote intelligent growth management without expanding the county bureaucracy. o Public Safety I Fire I Rescue proposed expanded services could be more expensive than the benefits o Growth management tools: ACE, 800MHz emergency communication system, Land Use Planning Chamb~ encourages the use of the private sector to find better and more efficient ways to spend taxpayer money. We feel.that many unfunded priorities could be included in the budget with a comprehensive review of the total budget and we welcome the opportunity to join you in a review of the county finances. We will follow the budget process in detail over the next month and will speak to you again at the next Public Hearing about: o Improvements in county operations o Assess cost/benefit of existing programs o Review county strategy for service needs Thank you for your time and consideration of our interests! To From Post-lt~ Fax Note 1671 Dale Co.lOept. Phone' Fax' Co. Phone' Fa~# .... II .. . . Piedmont Environmental Council Protecting the Enuironment is Euerybodys Business Comments on the FY 2000 - 2001 Budget Delivered to the Board of Supervisors March 8, 2000 The Piedmont Environmental Council supports funding for the Acquisition of Conservation Easements program. We encourage you to consider the $1,000,000 recommended by the County Executive as the bare minimum needed to launch successfully this conservation initiative. Over one-third of this $1,000,000 is projected to come from the transient lodging tax, which must be used for projects that promote tourism. While we strongly support the use of these funds for ACE, we are concerned that relying on the 10dging tax to fund this much of the program leaves too little to protect land that should be conserved for reasons other than tourism. We know you have a difficult job ahead of you in the weeks to come. Please keep in mind the advice of your fiscal impact planner, who pointed out that buying the development rights on, a 220-acre farm could save the County over $175,000 in twenty years. And, finally, please remember the connection between conservation and a strong local economy. The provisions of the ACE program will protect the rural character of Albemarle County. Therefore, the ACE program will work to protect the County's proven economic asset: it's natural beauty. · Fax 540-349-9003 -804-977-2033 - Fax 804-977-6306 Lea ue of Women Voters of Charlottesville and Albemarle County 1928 Ar1tngton Boulevard Room 105, CharlottesviUe VA 22903-1561 phone: 804-970-1707 http://avenue.org/lwv Iwv@avenue.org fax: 804-970-1708 March 8, 2000 To: Albemarle County Board of Supervisors From: League of Women Voters Re: County Executive's Recommended FY200D/2001 Budget We are ~ps~aking in support of two items in the FY2000/200 1 recommended budget. ., . The first relates to funding for Engineering and Public Works that will increase protection of our critical groundwater and surface water resources. . This would provide, first of all, for initiation of a critical multi-year hydrogeologic study of six watershed areas in the County. We currently don't know enough about the groundwater in our rural areas, where development depends 'on that fragile source. A hydrogeologic study will tell us where there is sufficient water for development and where there is not, thus forestalling the need, at a future date, to extend costly public utilities to rural areas. This study will identify important groundwater recharge areas as well as areas vulnerable to pollution. Also important in meeting the requirements of the new water resources Ordinances, Engineering needs at least one Erosion and Sediment Control engineer to inspect storm water control facilities for new homes and subdivisions and to perfonn annual inspections of the existing 150 facilities. One of the weaknesses in the old watershed protection ordinance was the lack of responsibility for monitoring and maintaining storm water control facilities after construction. We shall never know whether siltation in the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir would be less had such responsibility been clearly defined. . Thus, in order for the County to learn more about groundwater for future planning and to monitor storm water runoff, it must have staff and financial resources to do the job. Our second concernis for sufficient funding for the ACE (Acquisition of Conservation Easements) Program. The League has spoken previously in support of this prqgram and continues to consider it an important tool in preserving and protecting the irreplaceable natural, scenic and historical resources of our County. We urge you to assure that the originally proposed amount of$1 mi+lion be available for the program from geperal funds and full use of tourism funds. Thank you, Ruth Wadlington, Co-President ....a rwnj'artisan organization d"etiicateti to Hie 'promotion of informed" ant(q.ctive 'particy,ation of citizens in gO'Yernment. "