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Nonprofits and regional providers ask Essex supervisors for modest increases, project support
Summary
At the March 4 budget work session, behavioral-health, aging, transit, education, cultural and social‑service providers described local service levels and asked Essex County for modest funding increases or project grants, with no decisions made at the meeting.
Multiple outside agencies addressed the Essex County Board of Supervisors on March 4 seeking continued or increased support as the board works through its FY27 budget.
Amanda Campanola, executive director of Middle Peninsula Northern Neck Behavioral Health, told the board her agency delivered more than 28,000 services to 358 Essex residents and asked the county to provide the local 10% match required by the state performance contract — a sum staff identified as $63,962 for FY27, an increase of $2,149 over the prior year. "We delivered more than 28,000 services to 358 Essex residents," Campanola said, highlighting a mix of crisis, recovery and prevention services.
Bay Aging (Tinsley Goat, CFO) requested a 3% increase to its county allocation to cover rising labor and insurance costs and detailed how county dollars leverage larger state and federal funding. Bay Transit (David Volz) said transit provided 17,797 rides to Essex residents last year (up 12%) and asked for a modest 3% increase for demand‑response service while reducing fixed route support because of a new micro‑transit service.
Rappahannock Community College (Russ Carmichael) reported Essex headcount of 259 students and growth in dual enrollment; RCC requested a 3% increase (transcript: $9,276) to support students and new allied‑health programming, and announced a March 24 groundbreaking for a new health‑science building.
Local cultural and civic groups also made requests. Tim Manley of the Essex County Museum and Historical Society asked for a sizable increase to support the county’s 250th anniversary programming and a Rise and Fall Festival; Beth Sharp of the DAW Theater Foundation requested $21,718 to complete phase‑one documents on a $143,436 phase needed to pursue historic tax credits, saying the foundation has raised roughly $100,000 toward that phase. The Tappahannock Artists Guild asked the county to match the town’s $4,500 contribution to pursue a Virginia Commission for the Arts matching grant.
Service‑delivery nonprofits described regional partnerships and rising need. The Haven described its accompaniment and hotline services and requested a 10% increase in support; the transcript garbled the specific dollar total for that request. Gloucester United Emergency Shelter Team (GUEST) said it serves 10 counties with a budget of $278,000 and asked that each county contribute $5,000 to expand staffing; GUEST said 11% of its winter‑shelter guests this season were from Essex County. Love Thy Neighbor, a regional shopper‑choice food pantry, reported serving roughly 300 families a week and documented 54 Essex households and 157 Essex residents in 2025; the pantry used a per‑visit formula to derive its funding request and sought partnership support.
Board members asked clarifying procedural questions — for example, whether some outside‑agency requests should go through the county’s youth‑incentive fund and which costs are eligible as non‑operational one‑time requests — and thanked county staff (including legal and grants support) for grant assistance that leverages local dollars. Chair called for a motion to adjourn after the presentations; the board adjourned with a voice vote.
The board did not take any funding votes at this session; supervisors said they will review the outside‑agency requests as part of the formal budget process.
