Gloucester County, Virginia
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Gloucester County is within the Commonwealth of Virginia in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area in the USA. Formed in 1651, the county was named for Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester, third son of King Charles I of Great Britain. Located in the Middle Peninsula region, it borders the York River and the lower Chesapeake Bay. It is about 75 miles east of Virginia's capital, Richmond. According to the 2010 Census, the population is 36,858[1]. The county seat is Gloucester Courthouse.
[edit] Website evaluation
In 2011 Gloucester County earned a Sunny Award for having a perfect website transparency score.
- Main article: Evaluation of Virginia county websites
This site was most recently evaluated on 9 Jan 2012.
[edit] The good
- The current budget and the budget for past years are posted online.[2]
- There is a calendar of all the meetings and the agendas and minutes are posted online.[3][4] The county also discloses its meeting procedures.[5][6]
- Users can stream video of meetings live, as well as watch or listen to previous meetings; meeting archives are searchable.[7]
- The Board of Supervisors members are listed with name, phone, address, and email contact information.[8]
- Vacancies for Boards, Councils, Commissions and Committees are listed.[9]
- The County Administrator is listed with contact information.[10][11]
- Planning and zoning ordinances are posted online, along with permits and forms.[12][13][14][15]
- Audits are posted online.[16]
- The contract bidding process and bid awards are posted online.[17]
- Discloses memberships to two taxpayer-funded lobbying associations, the Virginia Association of Counties and the National Association of Counties.[18]
- A public records request form is posted online.[19]
- All local taxes are disclosed online.[20]
- The county also has a "Citizen Notification" program for its residents.[21]
[edit] Elected Officials
[edit] Board of Supervisors
The Code of Virginia provides that each county be governed by a board of supervisors, which is elected by the qualified voters. The Gloucester County Board of Supervisors is composed of seven members, one from each of the five magisterial districts, and two at-large members elected from the entire county. Supervisors are elected for four-year terms which are staggered at two-year intervals. The election of supervisors is held as a part of the November general election. At the first meeting of the year, the board conducts an organizational meeting and elects one of its members to serve as chairperson and another to serve as vice-chairperson.[8]
Current members as of January 3, 2012:[8]
| Member | Title | District |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew "Andy" James | Member | Ware |
| Ashley Chriscoe | Member | At-Large |
| Carter Borden | Chair | York |
| Robert "J.J." Orth | Member | Abingdon |
| John Northstein | Member | Petsworth |
| Christopher Hutson | Member | Gloucester Point |
| Louise Theberge | Vice-Chair | At-Large |
[edit] Administrative Officials
[edit] County Administrator
The County Administrator's Office works directly with the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors to carry out the following duties:[22]
- To make recommendations to the Board concerning the affairs of the County;
- To keep the Board apprised of the County's financial condition;
- To prepare, submit and administer the annual County budget;
- To preaudit all claims against the County;
- To manage the County and its various departments on a daily basis
The current County Administrator is Brenda Garton.[10]
[edit] Budget
The total County budget for all funds for FY 2011 is $97,715,248, which is $9,449,814 or 8.8% less than the current adopted budget. This decrease is primarily driven by reductions in state and federal revenues, as well as delaying capital projects.[23]
The following are several highlights from this budget, and I ask that you review the budget for more information about these issues and other issues facing our County:[23]
- The overall projected increase in all General Fund revenues is 0.4% when comparing FY 2010 Adopted Budget and FY 2011 Adopted Budget.
- Based on the results of the 2010 general reassessment of all real properties in the County, the lowered or equalized real estate tax rate is $.583.
- The real estate tax rate was set at $.58, the personal property tax rate was set at $2.60, and the boat tax rate was set at $1.00, which are effectively no increases.
- There is no increase for calendar year 2010 in the ad valorem tax rate for the Gloucester Sanitary District #1, Gloucester Point Sanitary District, and all Mosquito Control districts of $.01.
- The budget increases the local appropriation to the School Fund by $485,850 or 2.4%.
- There are no general salary increases or merit increases.
- This budget leaves frozen and unfunded 10.1 positions in the General Fund and Utility Fund.
- One position in the General Fund, which was previously frozen is funded.
- Funds are included to move the Gloucester Point Branch Library into larger leased space in the Gloucester Point area.
- Funding for the emergency services communication system project is continued.
[edit] Lobbying
The county discloses memberships to two taxpayer-funded lobbying associations, the Virginia Association of Counties and the National Association of Counties:[18]
- VACO Annual Membership dues (2011): $8,109.00
- NACO Annual Membership dues (2011): $ 699.00
[edit] Transparency and Public Records
The county has a good track record with complying with public records and providing information to residents. The county has created a Transparency Initiative that provides all information to be considered an A+ by Sunshine Review.
[edit] Meeting Portal
Gloucester County has added a Meeting Portal to its Transparency Initiative, which allows users to watch meetings live via streaming video, and also watch or listen to previous meetings. Meeting minutes archives are also now searchable by keyword.
[edit] Contact Info
County Office Address:
6467 Main Street
Gloucester, VA 23061
Phone: 804-693-4042
[edit] External links
- Gloucester County home page & the Gloucester Transparency Initiative
- Gloucester County on e-Reference
- Gloucester County on US Census
- Gloucester County Public Schools
- Gloucester County on PublicRecords.OnlineSearches.com
- Gloucester County Links and News
- Gloucester County on ePodunk
- Smart Region, Hampton Roads Communities Grades for Government Transparency, Oct. 17, 2010</ref>
[edit] References
- ↑ Population Estimates
- ↑ Budgets
- ↑ Meeting Agendas and Minutes
- ↑ [ http://www.gloucesterva.info/Home/Calendar/tabid/830/Default.aspx]
- ↑ Meeting policies
- ↑ Public Hearings
- ↑ Streaming Video
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Board of Supervisors
- ↑ Vacancies
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 County Administrator
- ↑ County Administrator
- ↑ Planning and Zoning
- ↑ Zoing Forms
- ↑ Building Inspection Forms
- ↑ Planning Commission
- ↑ Audits
- ↑ Bid results
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Lobbying
- ↑ FOIA request form
- ↑ Taxes
- ↑ Citizen Notification program
- ↑ About the Administrator
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 Fiscal Year 2011 budget document
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