Presentations from a slate of health, human‑service and education providers dominated the April 2025 special call of the Northumberland County Board of Supervisors as outside agencies sought continued or increased county funding for fiscal 2026.

Legal Aid Works, Bay Aging (including Bay Transit), a Free Health Clinic, Rappahannock Community College, the Northumberland Public Library and the Northumberland Family YMCA each summarized services provided to county residents and outlined budget requests or related asks.

The requests combined program metrics with specific funding asks. James Bridal, managing attorney of the Taffy Hanning branch office of Legal Aid Works, said the two‑attorney office covers seven counties including Northumberland and asked the board for $9,056 in county support. Bridal said Legal Aid Works “is the only agency in this area providing these services” and told the board the office had assisted 31 Northumberland residents in the last fiscal year. He also said the agency’s three offices obtained “over $418,000 for our clients throughout the 17 counties that we serve.”

Tinsley Goad, chief financial officer for Bay Aging — the Area Agency on Aging and Community Action Agency — requested a 3% increase over the FY‑25 appropriation, which Goad said would bring the county allocation to $16,701 for FY‑26. Goad described Bay Aging’s services as divided into health, housing and transit and reported Bay Aging served “nearly 1,600 residents of Northumberland in 2024,” providing about 20,000 home‑delivered meals and roughly 7,500 home‑care hours. Goad said local dollars act as required local match to unlock larger state and federal funds and summarized a 45:1 leveraging ratio for county dollars in FY‑24.

David Foles, transit director for Bay Transit, asked for a 3% increase for transit services and described ridership and fare details. He said Bay Transit provided 6,851 rides last year; nearly half were work related and 29% were health‑related. Foles reported Bay Transit provided 366 “New Freedom” rides for Northumberland residents this year and said the New Freedom fare is $5 for the first 50 miles and $10 above 50 miles; the county’s local buses charge $2 per ride.

A representative of the Northern Neck Middle Free Health Clinic reported a surge in patients after Medicaid redeterminations and an addition of services and staff. The speaker said the clinic received about 770 new patients during the recent year, that roughly 550–565 county residents used the clinic’s services, and that the clinic hired a full‑time pharmacist effective Aug. 1, 2024. The clinic also added two peer‑recovery specialists through a partnership with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield and said its expanded behavioral‑health and pharmacy services improve medication compliance and reduce repeat trips for patients.

Rappahannock Community College requested level funding of $9,852 and asked the board to consider an additional $287 to fully meet the college’s request. The college’s representative said 101 county residents took credit courses, 94 students are in dual‑enrollment programs, and RCC awarded $295,639 in financial aid to Northumberland residents in the most recent year. The college also described plans for a 10,000‑square‑foot health‑sciences center and expanded technical programming.

Lisonbee Cockrell, District Executive Director for the Northumberland Family YMCA, said the organization seeks level funding and noted the Brent Family Aquatic Center pool‑enclosure project broke ground Feb. 1, 2025. Cockrell asked the board to continue a one‑time $5,000 capital contribution approved in FY‑25 to help offset early operations and programming costs in FY‑26.

The Northumberland Public Library asked for a 3% increase in county funding to $273,480, citing a state aid increase from $142,108 to $176,846 and warning of the planned loss of approximately $4.3 million in federal support for statewide electronic resources if a new funding source is not found. The library said it served 27,822 patrons in 2024, answered 7,450 reference questions and provided 14,830 computer sessions; the director asked the county to continue steps toward the state’s 66% funding requirement.

Board members and presenters discussed service counts, local matching formulas, ride counts and program partnerships; several presenters said they would provide follow‑up breakdowns (for example, Legal Aid agreed to supply county‑by‑county service counts and the Free Health Clinic and Bay Aging agreed to share locality breakdowns). No supplemental appropriations for these agency requests were decided at the meeting.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to convene a closed meeting under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (motion referenced Virginia FOIA language). Motion moved and seconded; board recessed into closed session.
- Motion and roll‑call return to open session; members recorded as voting “Aye” in the roll call recorded at the meeting.
- Appointment: approved — Suzanne Eham appointed to the anti‑litter committee (vote recorded as Aye).
- Supplemental appropriation for DHCD housing planning grant invoices (amount described in packet; board approved a supplemental appropriation and vote recorded as Aye).
- Invitation to bid: approved — exterior painting at the school board office (motion to put the project out for bid approved, vote recorded as Aye).
- Motion to continue/carry over the meeting to Tuesday at 6 p.m.: approved (vote recorded as Aye).

Why it matters: county appropriations and the local match decisions taken this spring will determine whether these agencies can sustain current service levels or need to scale back. Providers emphasized increased demand for transportation, home‑delivered meals, behavioral‑health navigation, and library electronic resources.

Looking ahead: presenters said they will provide requested locality‑by‑locality service breakdowns and follow‑up figures to county staff. The board continued its meeting to Tuesday at 6 p.m. to take up remaining items and budget deliberations.