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Board enacts ordinance allowing future employee bonuses to be authorized by resolution
Summary
Surry County adopted an ordinance that authorizes the Board of Supervisors to award bonuses to officers and employees by resolution (subject to appropriation), streamlining a process otherwise requiring a separate ordinance under Virginia law.
The Surry County Board of Supervisors on July 2 adopted ordinance amendment 25-04 to codify the board's ability to authorize future bonuses for officers and employees by resolution, satisfying a requirement in Virginia law that bonuses be authorized by ordinance but allowing the board to meet that requirement in a streamlined way.
Staff counsel said Virginia Code allows local governments to provide bonuses but that current statutory language requires an ordinance each time a bonus is awarded. The adopted amendment places a general authorization in the county code so future individual bonus awards may be enacted by board resolution and appropriation, while preserving board oversight: each bonus's terms and funding must still be set by a board resolution.
The county attorney and staff said the amendment is procedural and intended to speed future actions by letting the board consider bonus amounts and terms in a resolution, rather than reprinting and adopting a new ordinance each time. The board opened a public comment period and received none; a supervisor moved approval and the board approved the ordinance amendment by voice vote.
The ordinance does not appropriate funds for any specific bonuses; appropriations for particular payments must still be approved in resolutions and budget actions.
