Campbell County holds state‑required public hearing on proposed FY26 budget; residents raise election staffing and compensation concerns

Campbell County opened a state‑required public hearing on the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget, during which residents urged more election staffing and board members probed rising compensation costs and next steps on a proposed transient‑occupancy tax.

Administrator Rogers told the board the hearing was the formal, state‑mandated public hearing on the FY26 budget and reminded members they could not adopt the budget that night: "This is our annual event, our public hearing for the consideration of the upcoming fiscal year budget. . . . So this evening, we're here to hear from the community about their thoughts on the budget. You cannot take action on the budget tonight." The board opened the hearing at 7:03 p.m. and closed it at 7:25 p.m.

Don Wooldridge, who said he serves on the county electoral board, asked the board to consider adding a full‑time position and raises for current registrar staff to reduce turnover and preserve continuity. "We had seek funding for an additional full time staff and raises for the, current ladies, because it is a high, security office. They're handling, sensitive information. And so don't want a lot of turnover," Wooldridge said, adding that Campbell has 16 precincts and that recent state election law changes have materially increased the registrar's workload.

Frank (staff) told the board that state revenue for the registrar is about $110,000 while total expenses are roughly $415,000, meaning the county locally offsets most additional costs: "The state revenue for the registrar is right around $110,000 The total expense for that department is right around 415, so you're locally offsetting all the additional costs." The board discussed advocacy routes to seek relief from the General Assembly and through their state association.

Resident commenter Eric Sanzig presented a multi‑year compensation analysis that he said pulled compensation lines from prior budgets. He summarized several findings to the board: "So total compensation spend in this FY26 budget would be around $22,000,000 Instead, we're at 25,600,000.0. So over the last 5 years, if we had been tracking to those indexes, we would have spent $8,000,000 less in total for compensation." Sanzig also noted the general fund rose about $14,000,000 (19 percent) over five years and pointed out a 48 percent increase in a recreation‑labeled department over the same period.

Supervisors and staff cautioned that aggregate compensation spending mixes headcount changes, one‑time lump‑sum budget entries and actual year‑end payouts, and that a detailed staffing analysis would be required to separate pay‑rate changes from added positions. Administrator Rogers agreed to run internal compensation actuals and provide a staffing analysis that would identify the largest drivers: "We can do a little bit of staffing analysis and get that for you."

Board members also discussed the transient‑occupancy tax (tourist lodging tax). Rogers said the county will treat changes to that tax as a separate process from the budget and will produce a memo explaining how the tax may be set and what it can legally fund; he described a two‑part public process: one hearing to set the numerical rate and a second to change code language if the board pursues a rate change. "Next step will be to get a memo. Here's what transient occupancy is. Here's what you can pay for with it. And then we'll design a schedule that you guys can tweak," Rogers said.

Later in general discussion, supervisors raised concern about possible state action that could limit local land‑use control over large solar projects. Rogers said he was not aware of any enacted legislation but that the topic has been discussed at the state level and that county options would include letters to the local delegation, working through VACO (Virginia Association of Counties) and, if necessary, legal action funded from the county's fund balance.

The board received no formal votes on the budget during the hearing. A motion to adjourn was made and the meeting ended after an aye vote was called.