Louisa County committee recommends percentage-based allocations for potential data-center revenues

Louisa County's revenue forecasts committee presented a recommendation to set percentage-based allocations for potential new revenues from data centers and other sources, estimating roughly $36,500,000 in new money by fiscal 2031 and asking the public for input.

The committee said the framework would commit percentages of every dollar that arrives to predefined priorities — similar to how the county treats transient occupancy tax — so allocations scale with revenue rather than relying on uncertain annual totals.

A staff member for the revenue forecasts committee said this proposal is “an accumulation of the past 6 months of work” and called the document “a working document.” The presentation identified Amazon Web Services and other data centers as the primary new revenue source the committee modeled, using conservative assumptions of 25 data centers and one modular reactor to show illustrative numbers.

Rachel, listed in the meeting transcript by first name, told the group: “we want this money to directly support our citizens,” and the committee repeated that the allocations are intended to prioritize direct benefits to county residents while reducing reliance on debt and limiting long-term dependence on unlimited data-center growth.

The committee listed potential uses the allocations would fund, including tax rebates or reductions, capital projects, road and recreation projects, public safety and judicial facilities, airport upgrades (such as a runway extension or terminal work), rural preservation, water and sewer infrastructure, harmful-algal-bloom mitigation at Lake Anna, countywide litter mitigation, and direct cash payments to residents. The presenters recommended that the board adopt a committed-allocation approach so that each incoming dollar would be distributed by percentage to those priorities unless the board later changes the percentages.

Speaker remarks emphasized that the technology overlay districts (TODs) that would host some facilities represent only a small fraction of the county’s 514 square miles and that tight local control over siting and acreage is important to the committee. The committee also said public input is important and encouraged residents to comment so allocations can be tailored to community priorities.

The presenters stressed that the allocation table and the sample dollar amounts are recommendations for the board’s consideration, not final policy. “These are not gonna be chiseled in stone,” a staff member said, adding that the board could change allocations at any time and that the table is intended to help the board decide whether a proposed use fits within an existing allocation or requires creating a new priority.

No formal vote or binding board action was recorded in the provided transcript segments; the committee asked that the board consider the recommended percentage allocations and solicit public comment before finalizing any policy.