Henrico supervisors create Sustainability and Resilience Advisory Committee, appoint initial members

The Henrico County Board of Supervisors on Aug. 26 voted to establish a Sustainability and Resilience Advisory Committee (SRAC) to advise the board on environmental sustainability and resilience matters and appointed initial members from the County Manager’s Henrico Environmental Action Resource Team (HEART). The board approved the resolution by voice vote.

The SRAC is charged with drafting bylaws, governing meeting conduct, and electing officers; the board paper named initial members whose terms end Dec. 31, 2025. The board approved compensation at $200 for each meeting attended for voting members. The county manager and staff told supervisors the initial appointees are county HEART members so the group can “hit the ground running” while bylaws and a process for adding community members are developed.

Sam Hudson, presenting the board paper, said: “This board paper establishes the Sustainability and Resilience Advisory Committee or SRAC to advise the Board of Supervisors on environmental sustainability and resilience matters.” Several supervisors asked procedural and design questions during the discussion, focusing on timing for public appointments, the scope of the committee’s work, term length and compensation.

Supervisors pressed staff to clarify that the initial members listed in the resolution are county employees tasked with establishing the committee’s bylaws rather than performing substantive climate policy work. Staff confirmed the initial phase is intended to create meeting rules and organizational structure before bringing community appointees onto the committee.

Board members debated whether voting terms should be one year ‘‘to align with other boards and commissions’’ or two years ‘‘because it is meaty work’’ and may require longer continuity. The board noted that bylaws adopted by the committee could later amend term lengths and membership rules. Multiple supervisors said they prefer appointing community members during the regular January appointment cycle so terms align with other advisory groups.

The resolution passed on a motion to approve. Next steps directed the initial appointees to draft bylaws and for staff to return with a process and timeline for adding community members, with the board noting that HEART will remain as a separate advisory group.