Accomack County supervisors hear FY‑26 budget requests covering schools, public safety, transit and tourism

Accomack County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday heard a wide range of FY‑26 budget requests from county departments, towns and nonprofit groups, including a Chincoteague pitch for county funding of school resource officers, multiple requests for operating increases, and several capital and technology projects.

The hearing is part of the board’s annual budget review. County staff and outside presenters summarized program needs and asked supervisors to consider new or continued funding as the board prepares a proposed tax rate and final appropriation later this fall.

Key requests and presentations

Judicial offices: Cila Burge, judge for the general, juvenile and domestic relations court in District 2A, asked supervisors to consider two clerk salary supplements — $18,000 for the general district court and $18,000 for the juvenile and domestic relations court — to help recruit and retain clerks who handle warrants, protective orders, custody and criminal case processing. “The intensity of the clerk and deputy clerk training requirements and the critical job duties fundamentally requires a pretty intelligent individual,” Burge told the board.

Chincoteague and school safety: Mike Talbert, town manager for Chincoteague, asked the county to assume salary-and-benefit costs for a school resource officer (SRO) at Chincoteague Combined School after a Department of Criminal Justice Services grant ends. Talbert said the town would keep paying the officer’s training, equipment and a vehicle and asked the county to cover the 180 school‑day portion of salary and benefits; Mayor Denise Bowden told supervisors the town currently funds two SROs and asked the county to continue that support. Bowden said county funding for the SROs would “save the county about 30% overall on putting a brand new sheriff’s deputy in there,” and she urged supervisors to fund the positions for student safety.

Tourism and chamber reports: Joanne Moore, executive director of the Chincoteague Chamber of Commerce, and Robert Sabatini, executive director of the Eastern Shore Virginia Tourism Commission, reviewed visitor‑spending data and asked for continued county support. Moore cited Virginia Tourism Corporation estimates showing roughly $179.6 million in visitor spending for Accomack County in 2023, supporting about 1,420 jobs; the Chincoteague Chamber said it spent about $78,000 on marketing in 2024 and distributed 80,000 visitor guides. Sabatini asked the board to fund the tourism commission’s FY‑26 request of $234,438.

Nonprofits and social services: Several social‑service agencies requested operating increases. Mimi Sejette, executive director of the Eastern Shore Community Services Board, asked for a 10% boost (about $21,852) to help meet the state required local match for behavioral health contracts. Don Taylor, board member of the Eastern Shore Virginia Housing Mission, described a “Healthy Homes” initiative addressing fall risks and asked for funding (an amount presented in the packet was later described by the presenter as a placeholder/typo and not final). The Eastern Shore Area Agency on Aging asked supervisors to review its FY‑26 request to support services for seniors and low‑income residents.

Economic development, Main Street and housing: Cindy Mackey of Onancock (Nanticoke) Main Street sought a one‑time county match of $15,000 to help fill downtown storefronts through a business recruitment and retention website and marketing campaign; Mackey said the town had approved $15,750 and the Main Street group had identified 10 available Market Street properties. Lee Pam, deputy county administrator for community and economic development, described three county requests: continued funding for a derelict building removal pilot, a mandated five‑year comprehensive plan update, and furnishing costs to consolidate the county’s planning office in the former library building (a package listed at $240,000 in the packet).

Public safety and emergency services: Public safety presenters asked for equipment, personnel and facility funding. Captain Carl Wright, representing Sheriff Wessels’s office, reviewed requests for vehicles, court services transport capacity, corrections maintenance and an additional animal control officer. Emergency management and the regional fire training center sought funding for a public‑safety logistics facility and equipment for confined‑space and grain‑bin rescue; presenters asked for a drone, personal protective equipment replacement, a decontamination/wash unit for breathing apparatuses, a patient simulator mannequin for EMS training and water‑rescue suits. The county’s medical director and EMS staff were noted as key to implementing training and new programs.

Transit and 9‑1‑1: Phil Thompson, director of operations for Virginia Regional Transit’s Star Transit, asked the county to continue the required 32% local match for federal/state transit funding and noted FY‑24 ridership exceeded 100,000 rides, with the Blue‑Gold route serving about 40,287 trips. The regional 9‑1‑1 director, Jeff Lornoy, outlined ongoing costs related to a new regional radio system and recurring operating costs for the regional public‑safety communications center; several radio‑system operating expenses will be ongoing local costs if the system is adopted.

Technology and facilities: Ben Fox, chief information officer, outlined requests to replace aging IT infrastructure, redesign the county website to meet the U.S. Department of Justice’s April 26, 2027 Title II (ADA) requirement for accessible websites and procure an archiving solution for social media required by the Virginia Public Records Act. Finance director Leslie Lewis asked supervisors to continue funding a planned Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) replacement; Lewis said the county’s current finance application dates to 1989 and staff need modern, integrated finance and HR tools.

Library and registrar: Christopher Pote, director of the Eastern Shore Public Library, sought a 5% increase (about $39,901) to support a 3% cost‑of‑living raise and additional hours at the Chincoteague branch; he reported large year‑over‑year increases in visits and program attendance at the new regional library and heritage center. The registrar described major workload increases tied to 45 days of early voting, no‑excuse absentee ballots, same‑day registration and new reporting requirements; the office asked that temporary funds previously provided for the presidential election be made permanent and included capital requests for new optical vote tabulators.

Prosecutor and court operations: The Commonwealth’s Attorney (presenting in the meeting) requested salary supplements and continued funding for cloud‑based Axon Justice software that turns interview video into transcripts, and asked the county to consider converting a part‑time victim‑witness position to full time (estimated county cost about $25,000) to reduce staff and law‑enforcement follow‑up burdens. The clerk of court asked to retain a temporary part‑time staffer for another year to finish indexing scanned records.

Budget logistics and next steps

County Administrator Michael Mason and finance staff summarized the package of requests and reminded supervisors of scheduling. Mason and staff said some items already are recommended in the administrator’s proposed budget; others are pending and will be prioritized at upcoming work sessions. The board set a follow‑up budget work session for Tuesday, Nov. 11, at 5 p.m. to continue deliberations.

Votes at a glance

- Adoption of the evening’s agenda — motion seconded; chair recorded approval by voice vote and the motion carried (no roll‑call tally provided). - Adjournment — motion and seconded at the end of the hearing; chair recorded approval by voice vote and the motion carried.

Ending

Supervisors thanked presenters and county staff and noted continued review of the requests. The board will return to the FY‑26 package at the scheduled November work session and when it receives the school division’s request at a future meeting.