Supervisors schedule Dec. 11 public hearings for juror donation, line‑of‑duty funeral aid and animal abuse registry ordinances

The Smyth County Board of Supervisors on Nov. 13 agreed to schedule public hearings on Dec. 11, 2025 for three draft ordinances brought forward by the ordinance committee.

1) Juror expense donations: Circuit Court Clerk Graham explained jurors receive $50 per appearance and some jurors prefer to donate that expense pay. The draft ordinance and a proposed donation sheet would allow jurors to direct their expense pay to court‑related needs (transportation support, juror funds for transit or refreshments), provided recipients are connected to court service statutes.

2) Line‑of‑duty funeral expense ordinance: Committee members discussed formalizing a county practice to cover funeral expenses for qualifying line‑of‑duty deaths. The Commonwealth’s Attorney and staff noted the state determines eligibility under the Line of Duty Act in the Code of Virginia; an ordinance would create public expectations and allow citizen comment.

3) Animal abuse registry: The Commonwealth’s Attorney presented a draft animal abuse registry ordinance that would authorize a registration fee and annual address verification by animal control officers. The committee discussed 14 existing offender cases across the past 15 years and the ordinance language that makes the fee automatically applicable.

Each recommendation was approved by the committee and forwarded to the board to schedule the public hearings; the board recorded 'aye' voice votes to schedule the hearings.