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Delegate Keith Hodges urges investment in schools, coastal resilience and blue catfish processing for Mathews County
Summary
At the Oct. 16 Mathews County Board meeting, Delegate Keith Hodges reviewed the 2025 session budget, highlighted school funding increases and outlined local priorities—including dredging, living-shoreline reforms, septic alternatives and a Blue Catfish Funding Program to support processing and jobs.
Delegate Keith Hodges spoke to the Mathews County Board of Supervisors on Oct. 16 about state budget outcomes and priorities he said matter for rural coastal communities.
Hodges, who represents the district in Richmond, described the biennial budget as large and complex, saying it includes roughly $185 billion in total appropriations and cited major increases in school funding and individual tax changes that he said put money back into residents' pockets. "It did put money in your pockets," he said, noting a one-time rebate program and an increase in the standard deduction designed to have longer-term effects.
Hodges spent much of his presentation on issues he said are especially acute for Mathews County and the Middle Peninsula: flooding and failing septic systems, local infrastructure and the decline of traditional employers. He framed many of his remarks around local authority and rural economic development, arguing that policy should allow localities to tailor solutions to unique conditions.
On environmental and economic fronts, Hodges identified invasive blue catfish as a major threat to the Chesapeake Bay and described steps taken at the state level to support a local response. "Blue catfish's impact is devastating," he said, and outlined a Blue Catfish Funding Program that originally sought $4 million and has produced at least one grant in the district. Hodges said funding can support flash-freezing and processing capacity, create market opportunities and even provide correctional-work programs for processing.
Hodges also reported changes intended to make dredging and living-shoreline projects more accessible to localities. He said the Virginia Waterway Maintenance Fund was made more usable and that streamlined rules and technology adjustments to living-shoreline legislation now allow dredge spoils to be repurposed in some resiliency projects. "We were able to get the $8,000,000 moved from the port over to VMRC so it's more accessible," he said, arguing those funds and policy tweaks can help reopen navigation and protect property values.
On septic systems, Hodges described pilot and above-ground systems intended to reduce the nitrogen and phosphorus loads that drive WIP (Water Implementation Plan) obligations. He called the technology a potential "game changer" for low-lying communities where drain fields flood regularly and said additional research and approvals will determine timelines.
The delegate closed by urging local leaders to press for tools that fit rural conditions: more dredging, targeted workforce programs and investments that keep jobs and families in the region.
What happens next: Hodges said funding and program rollouts remain partly contingent on appropriations and subsequent administrative action in Richmond; he encouraged local officials to continue coordinating with state agencies on dredging and septic pilots.
