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Committee backs improved financial reporting, reviews school-construction sales-tax accounting and proposes $120,000 for uninsured building repairs
Summary
Interim Finance Director Margaret Lindsey recommended adopting regular budget-vs.-actual reports, reported that one-percent school-construction sales tax receipts remain unspent while bond proceeds are funding the high school project, and proposed using $120,000 of increased investment earnings for uninsured building repairs with $80,000 placed into contingency.
Margaret Lindsey recommended developing regular, transparent budget-vs.-actual reports modeled on other Virginia localities to improve clarity on revenues, expenditures and departmental performance.
Lindsey said that, based on information from Dr. Bucklew, none of the additional one-percent sales tax revenue designated for school construction had yet been expended; bond proceeds of about $110 million were being spent first on the high school project. The sales-tax revenue is maintained in a separate general ledger account and is earning interest, Lindsey said; she recommended obtaining further legal guidance on restrictions for interest earnings.
Lindsey reported the County earned approximately $2.2 million in investment earnings in FY2025 and $1.9 million in FY2026, higher than the $1.4 million assumed in prior budgets. She proposed increasing the FY2027 investment revenue estimate by $200,000 (from $1.4M to $1.6M), appropriating $120,000 to complete uninsured repairs to an adjacent County building and placing $80,000 into contingency that would require a subsequent supplemental appropriation to spend. Committee Chair Witt expressed support and the proposal will be included in supplemental appropriation materials for the Board’s August public hearing.
Lindsey also flagged payroll timing problems, noting that the Finance Department generally requires payroll and onboarding documentation by the 15th of each month and that late submissions had caused processing issues; County Administrator Ron Brade said he would notify constitutional officers that late payroll submissions would generally be processed in the following payroll cycle.
